Privateer Prep
by Betty Bonny
Summary: Twyla and her friends have been kidnapped by world-hopping time-pirates and forcefully recruited. The only way to get back home is to out pirate their captors. But will their goal of home cost them their soul?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which are trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Privateer Prep:

Season One:

So, You're Going to Be a Pirate

Episode One:

Filched by The Face Stealer

"Someone else was kidnapped last night."

Twyla Boogey paused mid-bite of her carrot as she glanced up at the speaker. It was her werewolf friend, Howleen, who plopped down on the cafeteria bench to sit across from her. The table wobbled slightly under the uneven weight so Twyla slid out of the shadows as she asked, "Who was kidnapped?"

Howleen's gold eyes widened comically as she gestured towards the gossiping cacophony of students in the cafeteria, "How could you _not_ know who was kidnapped? Deuce Gorgon, only _the_ hottest guy in the school was taken along with Petra De Nile!"

Twyla furrowed her thin brows and scrunched her nose at the smell of wet-fur. She noted the sheen of Howleen's coat as she spoke, "Another De Nile? Cleo must be up in arms about both her sisters being kidnapped."

Howleen propped her fur-covered elbows on the table and tapped it with her claw, carving strikes into the wood as she emphasized, "Rumor has it that the vampires of Belfry Prep are taking monsters for an epic Fright Tube prank and since Monster High has all monster types our school is their main target."

Twyla rolled her eyes, "Why would vamps fly all the way down to _New Salem_ , Massachusetts for-" She winced and covered her ears as multiple trays clattered to the floor from the force of a screaming Cleo. When the room ceased shaking and the glass of the shattered window finished it chimes Twyla uncovered her ears and continued, "-ugh. What kind of Fright Tube prank would that be?"

Howleen shrugged, "I don't know, vampires are weird."

Twyla shook her head and pointed her carrot, "Hey no need to stereotype vampires, not all of them are weird. Besides I heard the ghost of Haunted High were responsible. It would explain how some of the other ghost students went missing."

Howleen rolled her eyes and scoffed, "You're only defending vampires because you have more in common with them."

Twyla leaned back in her seat and squinted, "What?"

Howleen pursed her lips and nodded, "Let's face it. The kidnappings only happen at night. No one ever sees anyone enter or leave the school and they bypass all the curses made by Headless Headmistress Bloodgood. Vampires only do things at night, boogey monsters only do things at night. Vampires can wield powerful magics, boogey monsters can walk _through_ powerful magics-"

Twyla rolled her eyes, "Okay, first of all, vampires can't walk through the shadow. I do. They sleep in coffins; I sleep _under_ the bed. They may wield powerful magics but they can't avoid the curse of a headless horsemen and Headless Headmistress Bloodgood is the strongest. No _monster_ enters this school without her permission."

Howleen gasped, "You don't think Headless Headmistress Bloodgood is in on it do you?"

Twyla lowered her eyelids, "Why would she be in on an epic kidnapping prank?"

Howleen shrugged, "I don't know. It's just weird that so many have gone missing and nobody's been able to find a culprit."

Howleen's iCoffin rang and she glanced at it, "Ah, Twyla, I have to go. My brother has been extra paranoid about where I'm at. You should come and join us."

Twyla shook her head and slid back into the shadows becoming one with the dark, "Nah. You go ahead, I'll be in the shadow if you need me."

Howleen scowled at the empty seat before her, "Look here my testy bestie, just because you're a monster of shadow doesn't mean you can't go missing."

Twyla chuckled as her violet eyes glowed electric blue in the shadow, "If a monster was capable of ripping me out of shadow my dad would sense the change and come to my rescue. No need to worry. Go be with your brother, don't make him worry."

Howleen whimpered and held her hands close together in front of her chest as she stared wide-eyed at the shadow.

Twyla closed her eyes, "Puppy eyes won't work on me. Go on. I'll see you later."

Howleen blew a short blast of air out of her nostrils as she got up and weaved her way through the crowd of tables towards her brother. Twyla continued her lunch in relative silence as she observed the student body of Monster High from her safe space in shadow. Paranoia was at an all-time high. The normal mix of ghouls and mansters sat segregated by monster type as they eyed each other warily. Snide remarks about whose kind did what wafted through the air as hisses and snarls met every comment ten-fold.

Twyla dropped her carrot on her tray, her appetite dissipated. She stepped through shadows, unhindered by the gossiping crowd, to deposit her tray on a counter. A confused cyclops blinked at the tray's sudden appearance and backed away warily. All around her students suspected one another of being in on the terrifying joke. She recalled last month when it all started as several members of her graduating class had gone missing. A few monsters every night and no one could make contact with them.

Twyla bypassed the door as she slipped through the long shadows of the candle-lit hall towards her locker. When she opened it, a leaflet fluttered to the floor. It was the advertisement for the metal band Spellstorm. Twyla sighed as she picked it up. A few weeks ago, the lead singer went missing the night before the concert.

She grabbed her books for class and balled up the leaflet, tossing it into the trash bin. No point in overthinking it. While ghost and mummies and ghouls had gone missing, she could not. She was safe in the shadows, no one could physically touch her while she was inside. Plus, no monster would take on the boogeyman and live to tell the tale. As his daughter, Twyla was confident no one would dare to try. She drifted from shadow to shadow as she made her way towards her next class. It was going to be a long week and she couldn't wait until she graduated in four days on June third. Then she would go home and learn how to weave pleasant dreams from her mother, a dream-weaver spider. She just hoped her father would understand her decision.

It was around two twenty-two in the morning. Twyla was sound asleep under her bed, wrapped cozy in her sheets when the creak of her dorm floor stirred her awake. She was ripped from under the bed. Her hands tied to her feet and a burlap sack shoved over her head.

She floated in the air or was carried by someone without a body but she did feel deathly cold hands pulling her arms out of socket as she was placed on a pole. She growled as she tried to shake the bag loose but it was tied around her neck. The rough material scratched at her skin. It irritated her. She kicked upwards in hopes of bucking the pole from which she hung, she screamed but to no avail. Whoever had her intended to keep her. Her sight adjusted to the dotted lights that pierced the sack, but she could only vaguely see streaks of violet from her surroundings as she was carried out the dorms.

She struggled against her captor, "Hey! Put me down, this isn't funny! Whoever you are, my dad will find you and haunt your nightmares for the rest of your life!"

She heard a high-pitched raspy snicker close to her ear and she thrust her head back to hit it. She only succeeded in hitting her head on a nearby wall. "I mean it! My dad is the Boogey man! If you let me go right now, we can pretend this never happened."

Her words were met with more laughter that echoed around her head. She worried her lip as she tried to pinpoint its location. Aggravated she tried sensing for shadows, hoping to slide into one and make her escape. But the shadows eluded her. The scent of rotting leaves suffocated her as she swung from side to side and tree branches smacked her sides. She was in the forest surrounding the school but she hadn't heard the creak of the old tungsten gate so they weren't taking her through the front entrance.

The forest was silent except for the occasional snap of a twig. Her captors had to have feet to physically effect their surroundings, but what kind of ghoul was it. Soon she heard water gurgle as it cascaded over rocks. She knew she was near the Drearrimack river, though for what reason she was uncertain. Waves slapped against an object and water in the wind wet her side. Her weight shifted towards her feet as she was taken up a slope. Boots clomped against wood behind her. A squealing chortle sounded close to her ear as she was carried down wooden stairs. Sound intensified as though the hallway was narrow and the musty air reeked of citrus and sea. She slid forward as the pole was tilted and she slammed face first onto a wooden floor. She took in a breath to calm her nerves but her eyes widened when she felt her world rock beneath her.

The metal clang of a cell door slammed behind her. She sat up and growled, "If this is some type of prank it's gone too far!"

Nothing but laughter answered her; and as the laughter sounded further and further away, Twyla filled with dread. Shortly thereafter; the footsteps returned and she could hear screams echo from a distance. Some of the voices sounded quite familiar, but she was unable to confirm as her captors would rattle the bars of her cell anytime she started to speak. Her captors returned at least half a dozen times and deposited prisoners. Twyla completely lost track of time. After a while, she felt the ship lurch and roll forward.

She knew they had set sail, "Seriously, if you're doing this to make an epic prank video for Fright Tube; it's not funny at all."

A manster's familiar low-pitched voice rang out from a nearby cell, "Twyla?"

Twyla perked up and gasped, "Billy? Is that you?"

Billy laughed dryly, "Yeah, I'm here. Hopefully these ghouls let us go soon. I have to pick up my graduation robes tomorrow."

Twyla scooted forward until she touched a cell bar so she could hear him better, "Ghouls? Did you get a good look at them? Were they from a rival school?"

Billy let out a deep breath, "Well I think one was a ghoul. I'm not sure. The one who grabbed me looked like a normie, if she's a monster I don't know what type but she did have all these floating haunts around her. I couldn't give her the slip either, it's like she could see me the whole time."

Twyla gasped, "They could see _you_? How? Were you sleeping under a light?"

Billy sighed, "No, I was my normal invisible self but it didn't seem to matter."

"Maybe the ghoul _was_ a monster type, what did she look like?" Twyla inquired.

Billy replied, "She had two arms and two legs and two pigtails on top of her head. She stunk though, smelled like dried blood and graveyard soil, so rotten."

"Eww. Are you sure she's not a monster?"

"She's probably a witch now that I think about it. They can pass for normies when they want."

Twyla chewed her cheek as she tried to peer through the material covering her face, "But why would a witch kidnap a bunch of other monsters?"

"Why do witches do anything? Who knows-"

"So, do you all go to the same school," An unfamiliar girl's serene voice called out from a distant cell.

The girl's voice called out again, "Please don't stop talking, I didn't mean to interrupt. I just got excited to hear some friendly voices for a change. That Freddie has become a real nightmare."

Twyla turned towards the voice, "Who are you? Who's Freddie?"

The girl took a deep breath, "I'm Evie, and while I would normally _love_ to tell you all about me, I'm not sure how much time we have before Freddie comes back down here. Freddie's the one behind all this. We grew up together; she had always been a bit…off, a bit of a control freak; but the way she seems now scares me. I don't know what kind of elaborate prank this would be, but if it's from her it can't be good."

A girl with a haughty voice a few cells down from Twyla inquired, "So this Fred person… is she known for pulling crazy pranks? What does she typically do and why would she involve another school?"

Evie sighed, "I have no idea what's going through her mind right now or what she's trying to do."

The ship lurched to a halt and footsteps were heard up above. Evie groaned, "There they go again."

A girl with an orotund voice a couple of cells across from Twyla asked, "Again? Wait, is she nabbing more people? This seems pretty excessive for a Fright Tube prank. I guess that Freddie is a _go big or go home_ kind of ghoul."

Evie replied, "Yeah, not really sure what Fright Tube is, but Freddie is either taking more people or stealing things. I overheard her talking about it when we stopped the first time. Shh, someone is coming!"

Twyla couldn't hear any footsteps but she suddenly felt a _presence_ in the room that chilled the air and made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Everyone remained silent as more people were loaded screaming into cells. Twyla heard the quiet sobbing of a girl in the cell to the left of her. It felt like hours had passed. No one wanted to speak as the ghostly presence seemed to linger in the atmosphere around them.

After a while a woman's voice from above called out, "All hands on deck!"

The presence left and soon she heard chains splashing into the water.

Billy sighed, "Sounds like we've docked."

Twyla pinched her lips together. She didn't know where in the world they were but she could only hope that she could find and jump into a shadow to contact her dad so everyone could be rescued.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which is trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Two:

Welcome Home

Boots clomped into the room with the jangle of bangles and keys. Someone snapped their fingers and the cell doors creaked open. Twyla was yanked up by the arm and prodded her out of her cell. She bumped into others as she was steered up the wooden stairs. Behind her a girl gasped and stumbled into her. Twyla winced as she received an electric jolt from the contact. When they reached the top deck, the humidity clung to her. Her every breath dampened the bag and warmed her face, it was stifling. Long fingernails clicked together by Twyla's ear as someone tugged at the string of the bag.

"Step lively now," a woman's deep voice ordered as the bag was removed. Twyla blinked to adjust her vision. It was a dark night with but a sliver of the moon barely visible among the backdrop of rushing clouds. A shimmer caught her eye and she noticed several shadow spirits floating around carrying luggage bags. One of the bags was her own, but she knew she never packed it.

A captor's condescending honk directed Twyla from behind while her cold hands shoved Twyla forward, "Haaa-rry up and step. You need to be out front, like now!"

Twyla moved towards a board connected haphazardly to a dock. A short lightly tanned woman with dull red hair pulled into a tight high set bun stood waiting with a grin. Twyla shuddered as she felt the piercing green eyes of the woman fix upon her. She continued along the board and, when close enough, she could make out a dusting of freckles on the woman's face with lips as dark as fresh blood.

Twyla was forced to stand under a light post on the dock. She shielded her eyes with her bound hands and peered around. The four women that traveled between the ship and the docks all wore similar clothing. A navy top with a black tattered skirt and a silver statement belt. There was something red and gold on the sleeves of their tops but Twyla was unable to determine precisely what. The red-headed woman turned her head to look when one of the captured tripped and fell onto the deck. Twyla tried to slide back into a shadow but was shocked to find none present.

 _What kind of magic is this? If there are no shadows my father can't reach me and I can't reach him!_

She closed her eyes and took slow calming breaths. The ropes binding her hands loosened and she opened her eyes to see the red-headed woman poised with raised hand. That was when Twyla noticed the woman's outfit, it was more skin than material. The light reflected off the white button-up blouse highlighting ample buxom framed by a black lace bra. Twyla smoothed the material of her own skirt down for the woman's black high-waist mini skirt had a split on both sides that display far too much tanned thigh for Twyla's taste. Luckily the woman was wearing blending black lace undergarments or else Twyla would have gotten an eyeful of the woman's unmentionables. Once everyone was standing on the dock, the woman did an about-face in her thigh-high lace-up stiletto boots and clomped towards the four captors.

The woman spoke in an amused tone. "Corporal Facilier, I applaud your creative use of the system. Imagine my surprise when I found the bodies of the graduating class floating around the dock _without_ their faces. Judging by the chunks of flesh in your hair I would assess that you were in fact _wearing_ said faces to sneak out of here. Well done. I think you just became my new favorite student. Four points to you, Corporal face stealer, for such a flawless _execution_. Three to you, Corporal Swan, for actually getting your hands dirty. Its high time you overcame that lazy nature of yours. Two for you Corporal Vondergiest, I know you supplied the intel required to execute the plan. And lastly," she sighed, "Corporal Piper, congratulations. You can follow orders you get one point. Now…"

The woman turned then glared at Twyla and everyone standing on the dock. She sneered and spoke in a derisive tone, "I am Lieutenant Delahaye, a teacher here at Privateer Prep, welcome to your new home. You can think of me as your new auntie and these lovely corporals as your new big sisters. I want everyone to know, right here and now that this is your new life. There is no escaping Snail Isle, there is only graduation or death. Congratulations you all were hand-picked to be the newest line of pirates."

Delahaye grinned maniacally, her eyes darted back and forth between everyone as they shifted under her gaze.

A girl with warm tawny brown skin wrapped in designer bandages, cocked her hip to the side as she pointed at Delahaye, "Pirate? Pirate! You took _me,_ Cleo De Nile, from a perfect life of luxury for the sole purpose of turning me into a pirate? How dare you! When my father discovers that I am missing, he will spare no expense to find me! You and your entire operation of cronies will be tossed into a pit of scorpions if you don't take me back home this _instant_."

Delahaye's eyes and hands began to glow orange as she pointed her finger at Cleo. A thin line of orange wrapped around Cleo's neck and she fell to the ground gasping for air. Delahaye tilted her head back and looked down her nose at Cleo, "Oh no, heaven forbid your _father_ send out a search party, whatever shall I do now that a concerned parent is looking for his _beloved_ daughter."

A motion caught Twyla's eye and she watched as the spirits around the pig-tailed captor distributed luggage. A bag thumped in front of Twyla as it was dropped. She squinted at the spirit and tilted her head. Its shape was familiar but twisted. Her eyes widened when she realized the spirits were made of shadow. Shadows that would normally be under poles and on the ground. Shadows that she would normally use to travel. She stuck out her hand experimentally but the spirit evaded her touch. She closed her hand and glanced at the huge pile of elegant mirrors, lanterns, jewelry and other valuables from the dorms back in Monster High. The students weren't the only ones taken. She noticed an elaborate gold sarcophagus and wondered if she could hide in it. She immediately dismissed the idea for she would still be trapped in a mysterious place.

Delahaye's released Cleo as her eyes and hands changed to a red glow, "All right females, pick up the bags."

Everyone reached down to pick up their bags.

Delahaye laughed and yelled, "Too slow, drop the bags."

She threw fireballs at their feet. A timid porcelain-pink fairy girl beside Twyla, cried as she fell to the ground. Delahaye growled low in her throat and stomped up to the girl as she yelled down at her, "Little girl what do you…" She recoiled, "Did you just _piss_ yourself?! You disgust me!"

Delahaye turned towards the corporals, "Corporal Facilier! What kind of weaklings have you brought me? The original list only had four! These thirteen females are by far the worst recruits that I have ever seen and we've had zombies!"

A thick tiger-like girl with warm sienna brown skin striped with white and red lines sauntered forward and stood at the position of attention. She smirked when a shadowy spirit whispered in her ear, "LT Delahaye, Corporal Facilier reports as ordered. Ma'am, we actually brought you 14 recruits, the boy is invisible and he has been trying to sneak away this entire time…like so."

Freddie crouched down and did a sweeping kick that caused a thud to sound beside her. She jumped onto the noise and became invisible herself. Her voice floated out of nowhere, "Here he is ma'am, it seems to be his _thing_. No worries, he's not going anywhere."

Grunting could be heard from the spot where Freddie and Billy remained invisible. A ghost girl with alabaster white translucent skin and royal purple hair in a sideways ponytail, floated in the position of attention in front of Delahaye. "LT Delahaye, permission to speak."

Delahaye kept her eyes fixed on the spot where Freddie went invisible and waved dismissively, "You have my attention."

The ghost nodded and replied in a trill voice, "While we did bring in fourteen recruits the real treasure lies below deck, I am confident you will find the contents of our journey quite _favorable_."

Delahaye slowly turned her head, "Favorable indeed, Facilier bring that boy over here and grab his things."

She abruptly turned back towards the abductees and growled through her teeth, "Why are those bags still on the ground! Pick it UP!"

Everyone grabbed their bags just as Delahaye shot another fireball at their feet, "Up the dock and through the door, move it, move it move _it_!"

Twyla and crew turned and sprinted through the main door, they barely had time to catch their breath before another fireball sizzled past their heads. Delahaye had her hands poised to throw another fireball, "To the left and up the stairs! Ugh, don't just stand there sucking in all my good air. Go all the way up, _go_."

They traversed up five winding flights of stairs panting heavily, Delahaye peppered the walls with flame anytime they slowed their pace. Once Twyla and crew reached the top of the stairs, Delahaye shoved them out of the way as she pulled out a key and opened the large metal door that led to the dormitories. Delahaye pointed through the open door as she sneered, "Why do you _stand_ there? Get inside, go towards the beds!"

Twyla and crew sprinted past Delahaye and huddled in the middle of the room with the beds.

Freddie, no longer surrounded by shadow spirits, became visible after she kicked Billy into the room next to everyone else. "Need any assistance, LT Delahaye?"

Delahaye clomped into the room, "Just unload the rest of what you brought, I'll inspect it later."

Freddie's elbow-length pigtails fluttered behind her as she spun around and ran out of the room. She slammed the door shut behind her.

Delahaye's eyes scanned the room, "Boy, show yourself or I will ensure you are never seen." Her hands and eyes began to glow a sinister orange as she squinted at the room.

Billy made himself visible right next to Twyla and she could see that he had taken quite a few hard hits to the side of his face as his pale blue skin was splintered like glass.

Delahaye grinned while still glowing, "You're rather tall for an invisible man. Interesting, but let's not waste time gawking. All of you, go and pick a bed then put your things down next to it."

Everyone shuffled away looking for a bed. Delahaye's glow changed from orange to red and she started to throw lightning, "Too slow! Pick a bed and pick it now, I'm not standing here all night!"

Twyla spotted the shadows the beds made and jumped into one. She sprinted away from Delahaye, but Delahaye was prepared. She shifted her glow once again from red to orange and threw what appeared to be heated chains into the shadows. Twyla found herself chained up and forcefully dragged from the shadow once more. Delahaye had also chained Billy, who had gone invisible. Twyla and Billy dropped their bags where they stood, conveniently enough, right next to a bunk bed.

Delahaye looked at the chain that held an invisible Billy with awe, "Well that is a first for me. Were you _born_ invisible?" She shook her head and composed herself, "Never mind, I officially stopped caring, _now…_ "

She looked around at everyone, "Have a bed, good. Open the bags at your feet and confirm you all have shower shoes, towels, underwear, pajamas, at least one change of clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo and conditioner."

After a moment of frantic unpacking Delahaye nodded, "Oh very nice, Corporal Facilier packed everyone's bag very well. Oh! Fifteen changes of clothes she really outdid herself. I must give her additional points."

While still holding Twyla and Billy's chains in one hand, Delahaye's free hand began glowing red. She swiped her hand in a downward motion which brought forth a wind that shredded everyone's clothes. Twyla shrieked as she covered herself and tried to jump into shadow again, but the chain held her tight. She envied Billy's natural born invisibility.

Delahaye held a flame in her hand and screeched, "Must I tell you everything? Grab your shower shoes, your towel, your soap and your hair stuff and get in the shower bay. Move."

Twyla grabbed her things and ran, not wanting to be seen not wanting to see anyone.

Delahaye did not give them a moments rest, she chased them through the showers, "This isn't a spa hurry up. Soap on your chest, shampoo in your hair. Move females. Oh, stop your crying no one is looking at you, pinky!"

The pink fairy was trying to cover herself while crying in the shower. Twyla felt bad for her but she didn't have long to feel sorry as the chain started to pull her out of the shower, "Get out of the shower, shorty you're done. Towel off and get dressed. _Move_!"

Twyla grabbed her towel, jogged towards her bed, and quickly dressed in her pajamas as instructed. As everyone filed into the room she noticed she was a full head shorter than everyone else. The pink fairy girl still cried as she dressed.

Delahaye tramped over to her, sneered and spoke in a condescending loud whisper, "What are you blubbering about now, piss-baby?"

Between sobbing breaths and crocodile tears the Faye cried, "You don't even treat us like people, huuuuh huh huh, this is inhumane! Huuuh huh huh, I had a life, huuuh huh huh, I had a family huuuh huh huh, I had a school. Wuaaaaaahuhuhuhaaa."

Delahaye backhanded her, which knocked her to the ground, "Cry me a little river while you're down there. Like I said before, this is your new life, your new school, embrace it or die. Your new family is in this room with you. You will all learn to grow together. Pray that those giant wings of yours don't get in the way of you growing a spine." She stalked towards the light switch and glanced back at everyone in the room, "Get in your beds and go to sleep."

Everyone got in their bed as Delahaye turned off the lights, "Nighty night kiddies."

Twyla stared up at the bed above her head as the whispered prayers of the crier a few beds down from her drifted into her thoughts. As she listened the full weight of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks. She had just been kidnapped from her home. The establishment that held her seemed to be set up to bring her harm. She had no idea where in the world she was. She had no idea what lay ahead in the days to come. Twyla rolled into the shadow under her bed as anxiety overwhelmed her.

After taking several long and calming breaths, Twyla opened her eyes and looked around in the shadows _. I need to get out of here, this place will be the death of me._ _It didn't seem to take that long to get here, I bet I could shadow jump from here to home._ Confident that she could escape her prison without any hindrance, she whispered good bye to her companions and jumped into a shadow in the hallway. When she detected no teachers present, she slowly descended the steps.

Slopes in shadow had always given her trouble and stairs were no exception, one way or another she would get stuck in a nook or cranny and her dad would have to help her out. But her dad was not here, he hadn't detected her absence for some reason and she could not afford to wait for a rescue. She needed to be the one to rescue her friends. She just needed to figure out where in the world she was so she could shadow jump within detection range of her father. Twyla was just passing the third-floor landing when a movement behind her caught her eye. She turned to see one of her classmates, a girl with sunglow yellow hair, tip-toeing down the stairs.

Twyla stepped out of the shadow and gawked, "Whoa, _brightness_ , what are you doing? You're going to get caught."

The girl jumped, scrunched her nose and hissed, "It's _Blondie_ and if you don't shut up we will! Besides I never met a lock I couldn't pick and I don't intend on spending the night in this hell hole. Now you are either with me or in my way."

Twyla held her hands up defensively and whispered, "Fine, together then. Let's go." She sank back into shadow and kept walking slowly down the stairs. The second landing made the hairs on the back of her neck curl. She turned and locked eyes with the darkness and shuddered.

The deep voice of Freddie called out from the darkness. "My my my, what do we have here?"

Freddie emerged from the shadow in the hallway, staring directly at Twyla. Twyla's breath caught in her throat and she froze in place, Blondie behind her crouched down trying and failing to remain unseen. Freddie sauntered up to the shadow where Twyla stood and whistled. A key emerged from the skull brand on Freddie's chest and a door appeared in the shadow behind Twyla. Freddie grabbed the key then shoved it into the door and several shadow spirits rushed out of the shadows pushing Twyla into the light and onto the ground. Freddie smirked as the spirits floated around her then looked down at both Twyla and Blondie.

Freddie jerked her thumb towards the stairs, "I'm pretty sure LT Delahaye told you that when the lights are out, you go to bed." She then glanced at a shadow spirit and jerked her head towards Twyla and Blondie. "Boys, put their lights out."

Twyla narrowed her eyes and glowered as the spirits turned towards her, "You can't keep me here forever."

Blondie rushed forward past the spirits and rammed Freddie in the stomach throwing her onto the floor. Blondie then raised her fist and punched Freddie in the face, "Suck it you teenage voodoo witch! I ain't staying here a minute longer!"

Freddie's shadow spirits turned towards Blondie. Twyla reached out and grabbed one. The spirit looked at Twyla's hand in shock. The grey of Twyla's hand darkened as she smirked, "Still just a shadow after all."

The spirit cackled, split into eight shadow spirits and surrounded Twyla. The other spirits grabbed Blondie and slammed her face first onto the landing, knocking her out cold. The eight spirits around Twyla grabbed her by the arms and held her.

Freddie stalked towards Twyla and gripped her face, "First thing you need to learn about this Isle is that _no one_ escapes. Second thing you need to know is that you _never_ lay a hand on an upperclassman. There are many rules set in place here but those two are the most important."

Twyla tried to shake free of Freddie's grip, "Why kidnap us at all? Why me?"

Freddie shrugged and smirked, "You were available and I intended to gain a legendary."

Twyla narrowed her eyes, "A legendary?"

Freddie chuckled, "You'll find yourself asking those type of questions every day here. Personally, I'm glad I was selected for this place, you might like it too if you give it a try."

Twyla frowned, "I just want to go home."

Freddie let go of Twyla's face, put her hands on her hips and scowled, "Pity, I wanted to like you but it turns out you're just like everyone else." She snapped her fingers and the shadow spirits slammed Twyla onto the landing.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which is trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Three:

Lost Lunch Woes

Twyla was harshly woken the next morning by Freddie's shadow spirits. They dragged her out from under the bed by the leg and tossed her ten feet onto the cold hard floor. Twyla tasted blood in her mouth as she rose, her head throbbed as the sound of buzzing fluorescent lights flooded her ears. She didn't have long to orient herself as Freddie had crossed the room and grabbed her by the throat.

Freddie pulled Twyla close to her face and demanded, "Purple girl, what's your name?"

Twyla had to stand on tip-toe to ease the pressure on her neck, she winced as she answered, "My name is Twyla."

Freddie rolled her eyes and gripped Twyla's neck harder, "Do I look like I care about your given name? What's your last name, Hun?"

Twyla tried prying Freddie's hands off of her neck but Freddie had a vice grip around her throat. Gasping for air, Twyla rasped out, "Boogey." She furrowed her brow as she struggled to break free of Freddie. Out the corner of her eye she saw a girl with platinum blonde hair throw a pillow.

Freddie turned just as a shadow spirit grabbed the pillow before it hit her face. She tossed Twyla aside, "I'll deal with you later."

The pillow-thrower boldly strode forward, "Cease and desist!"

Freddie looked at her sharp fingernails and sighed. She glanced at the nearest shadow spirit and jerked her head towards the girl, "Kids these days, no respect for their elders. Did you hear her make a reporting statement in any of that?"

"Here's a statement you can _report_ to, any further transgressions against myself or my fellow detainees will result in punishment. Executable by me, Darling Bellona Charming," She stated with her chest puffed out, fist on her hips and head held high.

Everyone else started cheering and clapping, Cleo sashayed next to Darling, flipped her hair over her shoulder and smiled, "I couldn't agree more. To add to that, _I_ Cleo De Nile of _the_ De Niles demand that you properly escort us to whoever oversees this facility and return us to our homes. I will not tolerate this abhorrent treatment." Cleo waved and smiled as everyone cheered again.

Freddie rolled her eyes then looked at the nearest shadow spirit and jerked her thumb towards the bold duo. "Did you hear something? I think I heard the sound of _falling on their face_."

Shadow spirits swarmed everyone and slammed them face first onto the floor. Twyla groaned as the familiar taste of blood filled her mouth.

Freddie slowly prowled through the bed bay looking down her nose at everyone, her shadow spirits cackled as they held the class prostrate before her. She stomped on Darling's back, "Cute little rebellion, but you have no power here and when you speak to me…" She gestured towards the other seniors in the room, "…my corporals, or anyone who outranks you, you are to give a reporting statement. Do I make myself clear?"

She ground the heel of her shoe into Darling's back, eliciting a gasp from Darling.

Cleo growled out, "Ugh, we don't even know what the reporting statement is! Now get these things off of me, how dare you slam _my_ face to the ground."

Freddie turned around and kicked Cleo in the stomach which scattered the shadow spirits. Cleo coughed on the ground and clutched her side.

A girl with a cool creamy beige complexion raised her head with a wince, "Freddie, what happened to you?"

Freddie gazed down at her with a tilt of her head, "Evie, the Isle's famous blue princess. Even covered in dust you're still the fairest of them all."

Evie fluttered her lashes and smiled, "As much as I love compliments," she pursed her lips, "This has got to stop. Why are you acting so cruel?"

Freddie curled her finger and the shadow spirits holding Evie lifted her to her feet. Freddie sauntered over and brushed Evie's midnight blue hair out of her face with the back of her hand, "Oh Evie, you really don't know?"

Evie shook her head as she tried to lean away.

Freddie pressed her thumb against Evie's lips and smeared her red lipstick across her cheek, "On the Isle we're condemned for playing the role we were born into. Labeled criminally insane and convicted at _birth_." She leaned closer as her velvet voice purred, "Why would I want to fulfill such a raw deal?"

Evie furrowed her brow, "So you join of group of pirates and kidnap people?"

Freddie raised her hand and made to swing. Evie closed her eyes and flinched away. Freddie snorted and grabbed Evie by the throat, "Don't make me hurt you."

Evie's earthy brown eyes trembled as she stared at Freddie, "I know you tried to go good once, you could do it again. I could help you. It doesn't have to be this way."

"You, help me? Ha! I love my life's new direction," Freddie strolled to the center of the room, "I'm aiming for a legendary freedom being good never offered," She addressed another senior, "Melody, teach these cronies how to properly report."

Melody Piper was a petite mouse-like girl with freckled ochre beige skin and a treble tattoo on her left calf. She walked to the center of the room with her head down and spoke in a monotonous tone, "When addressing an officer of Privateer Prep you are to stand at the position of attention, wait for verbal acknowledgement and state in a clear concise voice the addressees rank and name, followed by your rank and name followed by reports as ordered. If you are speaking to an enlisted member such as myself or Corporal Facilier you are to stand at the position of parade rest before proceeding the previous statement-"

She jumped back startled as a knife clinked off the floor at her feet. Large brown eyes trembled as she looked to Freddie for clarification.

Freddie grinned while holding another knife, "Good grief you are putting _me_ to sleep. Let's _jazz_ up our morning routine, shall we?"

Melody shuttered as she reached with trembling hands for the black messenger bag at her side. She brushed tendrils of her long burgundy and white hair out of the way and flipped the bag open to reveal a portable turntable. She pulled a record out of the side pocket and placed the disc on the platter, playing a quick paced but sad blues song.

Twyla raised an eyebrow at the setup but didn't question it. If music kept Freddie's attention away from her, she was all for it. She began searching for a shadow to slide into so she could try running away, but once again there wasn't one available.

Freddie prowled around Melody and caressed her neck, "That is a lovely _melody_ my dear Dahlia, thank you so much." Melody's entire being trembled but she couldn't pull away. Freddie grinned as she let go and turned back to everyone in the room, "First things first, I'm Freddie Facilier, but all of you will call me Corporal Facilier. These three over here-"

She pointed to the other seniors in the room, "-are the other corporals in my class. You disrespect them, you disrespect me and trust me when I say you do not want to disrespect _me_. Now, I am taking precious time out of my day to teach you fools the rules to the school so pay attention because I will only tell you once."

Twyla tried to pay attention but the music made it hard to focus on words, the only thing she felt like doing was dancing and she was not the only one. Across from her she spotted Cleo and Darling trying and failing to stand still and listen. No one was listening, but Freddie kept speaking. As Freddie droned on and on, Twyla grew more and more irritated. Freddie was obviously the type that loved to hear herself speak and Twyla couldn't stand her but she was also afraid of her. She had never met anyone outside of her family that had such precise control of the shadows.

Freddie snapped her fingers and the shadow spirits whipped out knives. As they urged everyone into the latrine Freddie commanded, "Get in there, brush your nasty little teeth, wash your grimy little faces and be back in the bed bay in less than five minutes to get dresses. I'm not waiting here all day for you."

Twyla and crew scrambled into the latrine and away from the shadow spirits. There were only two sinks. With fourteen people trying to brush their teeth and wash their face it was damn near impossible to complete the task in less than five minutes. Twyla did not want to be last, she really didn't but her petite frame and lack of shadow maneuverability made it nigh impossible for her to push her way forward. She envied the two fairies in her class that could shrink at will and fly past the crowd. They got in and out before she did.

When the five minutes were up, Freddie sauntered into the latrine just as Twyla applied toothpaste to her toothbrush. Freddie smirked and pointed a long finger at Twyla. Four shadow spirits grabbed Twyla's arm and held out the toothbrush for Freddie to grab.

As Freddie grabbed it, she chuckled, "Oh Boogey, did you want to _dance_ with me already? After our chat last night, I figured you were just like the rest but here you are pushing the limits doing what you want to do." She twirled the toothbrush between her fingers, "Well I've got news for you, only those with power can make the rules and I'm the one with the power."

Freddie jerked her chin upwards and additional shadow spirits gripped Twyla's jaw to pry open her mouth. She shoved the toothbrush inside and began to brush. Twyla winced and gagged as Freddie's none too gentle technique caused her already cut gums to ooze blood once more.

Freddie finished scrubbing and pulled the toothbrush out of Twyla's mouth before tossing it into the sink. She peered into Twyla's mouth and nodded then pointed to the sink, "Spit."

The shadow spirits shoved Twyla's head forward into the sink. She spit just as Freddie turned on the faucet and rubbed water all over her face. Water rushed into Twyla's nose and open mouth, and her vision was completely obscured, Freddie's black tipped coffin nails scratched at Twyla's skin. She flailed when it felt as though Freddie was going to drown her in the sink. Just as her lungs began to beg for air Twyla was pulled from the sink by the roots of her hair. Looking at her reflection in the mirror she saw that her cool wisteria skin was marred red from the excessive rubbing.

Freddie wrapped an arm around Twyla's shoulders, "Oh _tiny Tina,_ you have so much potential. I was in your shoes four years ago, unsure of what would happen then I embraced this place. I learned all I could and now I have the power to rob royals without repercussion. My destiny was to be dragged away and now I drag _them_ away." She flexed her arms to display her muscle, "All this power that I have, you could have it too. All you have to do is stop fighting the system, just like I did."

Twyla glared at their reflection, "I'm nothing like you."

"Pity," Freddie shoved Twyla forward, "Get in there and get dressed, you're eating into my time little girl."

Twyla dashed into the dorm bay and headed straight for her trunk. The spirits circled everyone and jabbed with knives as they dressed. Twyla threw her clothes on and jumped into line with the rest of her class.

Freddie stalked up and down the line almost daring anyone to make a move. She turned sharply on her heel toward a black-haired senior in ballet shoes, "Duchess! Take these ugly ducklings down to the chow hall."

Duchess put her hand on her hip and shook her head, "I'm the _Swan_ Princess, the Ugly Duckling is a bird of another tale! That joke was awwwwful!"

Freddie tossed a knife in the air and caught it repeatedly while tapping her foot, "Care to repeat that, chicken little?"

Duchess twirled towards the dorm door, "No, we're going. Come on ducklings, follow me."

Twyla and crew followed Duchess out of the dorm. She skipped on tip-toe down the stairs like a ballerina making a stage entrance. She was a slender elegant girl with creamy beige skin, hip length black hair with one swath of white tied in a sideways ponytail. Her eyes may have been a cold muddy brown as she sneered but they were framed by inviting long eyelashes.

Upon arrival to the chow hall, Duchess pointed to the food line. "Now remember, stay heel to toe with the person in front of you. Do not look to the left or the right, file in and fill up the tables on both sides and-"

Freddie came up behind Duchess and smacked her upside the head. Duchess screeched and turned into a black swan, her feathers scattered everywhere as she tried to recompose herself. Freddie swatted her out of the way and pointed to the food line, "I already told you brats what to do, now show me how you follow orders." She folded her arms and smirked as Twyla and crew filed into the chow hall.

Twyla hadn't realized how hungry she was until the scent of fresh baked bread, bacon and fried eggs massaged her senses. Cleo was the first one to grab a tray, she placed the tray on the counter and side-stepped smartly responding with a yes ma'am or a no ma'am to the questions the lunch-ladies asked. Twyla followed close behind, her eyes widen at the full breakfast spread. Not only was there fresh baked bread for toast, there were waffles, crepes, baguettes, chapattis, arepas, and rice with several different types of meats to include sausages, bacons, and fish; there was yogurt, granola, and a wide variety of fruits and beans.

Twyla was genuinely excited for breakfast, plus it would give her the strength she needed to find a way to escape the school. Once she loaded her tray with yummy eats she followed the line, sat at a table, placed her tray and sat down. Barely had she placed a hand on her fork when shadow spirits snatched her food tray and threw it in the garbage.

Freddie from across the room cackled loudly as she kicked the nearest table, "I know I gave you fools the chow hall rules. And I know for a fact that I said to walk all the way down to the last table before you put your sweaty butt in a seat. You will not come into _my_ chow hall and disrespect me. Spectra! Remind these heathens of the reason they lost their food."

Spectra, the ghost girl, lowered her eyes, floated over to Twyla and crew and explained the chow hall rules once more. A few of Freddie's shadow spirits kept flying around Twyla and pulling at her hair. She swatted at them but they would duck, laugh, and continue pulling. Twyla pulled her hair out of their grip just as Spectra finished her explanation.

As Spectra floated away a girl with stitches all over her green skin, stomped over to Freddie and shoved her finger in Freddie's face. "This is not fair! I think we've put up with quite a few bad things from you since we got here but you have to let us eat. This isn't right!"

Freddie looked down her nose at the stich monster with a smirk, "Not right, huh?" She pulled a butcher's knife out of a floating shadow, grabbed the hand in her face and sliced clean through the wrist. She swirled the knife around and laughed.

The stitch girl's identical twin screeched as she stepped forward, "Frankie!"

Frankie snatched her hand out of Freddie's grip and reattached it to her wrist frowning as she wiggled her fingers, "I'm fine Crecha, I can still connect the nerves."

Freddie cocked her hip to the side and raised an eyebrow, "Peh, _that's_ not right. You aren't even human; you probably eat brains or something. Any ways-"

Crecha, the identical stitched twin growled in rage. She rushed at Freddie and threw a bolt of lightning as she screamed, "How dare you hurt my sister!"

Freddie's hair stood on end as the electricity went through her. A few shadows oozed out the bottom of her blouse, as they had taken the brunt of the shock. She dodged Crecha's fist, grabbed Crecha by the throat, and wrapped her fingers around the bolts. Freddie choked slammed Crecha into a table as she hissed, "Looks like you want to go back to the grave."

Crecha narrowed her eyes as she gripped Freddie's wrist tightly and whispered, "Only if I can take you with me."

Freddie snorted and tossed Crecha aside, ripping a bolt out of her neck, "Spectra get these freaks out of my sight."

Spectra's shoulders slumped down and her lips trembled as she muttered, "Follow me everyone."

Freddie lobbed the bolt into the back of Crecha's head as she passed. Crecha grimaced as she struggled to dislodge the bolt from her skull, pulling out scalp and hair in the process. Twyla winced in sympathy as the chow hall doors creaked close behind them. Their stomachs sang a chorus of the hungry as they trailed behind Spectra through the tall hall. Disembodied laughter echoed around her and she glanced out the corner of her eye to see the shadow spirits dancing between the arched windows. How she wanted to smack them and their abusive mistress. Shadows shouldn't behave like that. If her father were here…

Twyla sighed as she shuffled past the dorm stairs and under the twisted black steel arch, its arms were branches that gripped the cream walls. Her father was not here, wherever here was, and with the shadows under Freddie's control he wouldn't arrive. There seemed to only be a small window of opportunity during the night when the shadows returned but nighttime was also when her father had to be at work and if Twyla was on the other side of the world she wouldn't even be within his jurisdiction. Perhaps one of her uncles would find her and direct her father here. Perhaps, but in the mean time she needed to find a way out on her own.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which is trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Four:

That Stings

Everyone turned right and walked under the arches into clothing sales. It was a long and narrow drab room with crunchy old carpet. The uniform racks were along the far-left wall, random school supplies and the registers were in the center of the room with the four dressing rooms along the far-right wall. There were two archways at the entrance of the room and Freddie's shadow spirits guarded the entrance as Twyla and crew selected uniforms.

Twyla quietly approached Darling as they perused the uniforms, "Hey, I just wanted to say thanks for earlier."

Darling, continued her forward gaze as she whispered, "Thank you but I was unable to make that villain to heel. It would seem her evil knows no bounds on this island," She moved some clothes around, "So we must remain vigilant, all villains have a weakness. I will discover hers, no need to worry." She flashed her a quick smile, "I'm a Charming after all."

Twyla furrowed her brow as Darling sashayed away. _I don't even know what that means._

Several clothing sales workers came out with measuring tapes, papers and uniforms. Twyla entered the changing room to put on the uniform and looked at herself in the mirror. The navy button up blouse was lightweight and of soft material. The mid-calf length black cotton voile skirt was light and breezy and the wide red waist belt fit her comfortably. The formal version of the uniform had a sand colored button up top and forest green skirt, since the sizes for formal were cut the same as regular she didn't try them.

She turned and looked at the PTV uniform sitting in the chair. She had no idea what PTV stood for but she guessed it was like physical deaducation because it was a simple white t-shirt and knee-length brown skort combination. She tried it on to be sure everything fit then changed back into her regular clothes and walked out of the dressing room. Upon exiting, she bumped into something unseen and almost fell backwards. She felt a strong hand catch her by the waist as Billy made himself visible.

He smiled down at her and asked, "Sorry Twyla. You okay?"

Twyla sat up and grabbed her fallen clothes, "Yeah, fine. Wait, how did they measure you for your clothes?"

Billy shrugged, "They didn't, but since that Fred girl's spirits are patrolling the entrance I couldn't really leave, so I've just been trying things out to see what fits. This red sash thing is weird though, I can't decide if it's supposed to be a neck sash or an awkwardly long handkerchief."

Billy held it up for Twyla to see. Twyla squinted and tapped her chin with her fingers, "Hmmm, I'm thinking it's supposed to be a belt, its long enough to fit through your belt loops."

Billy tilted his head and gave a lopsided smile, "Belt it is then, thanks."

Both chuckled quietly and looked at the ground. Twyla stepped closer to Billy and glanced around the room before returning her gaze to Billy, "So have you figured out exactly how those shadow spirits see you? Or…"

Billy quirked an eyebrow, shrugged then rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, "Yeah, no not really. As far as I could tell, even when I'm being quiet those things can find me. Reminds me of my mom. It is so weird to have something constantly aware of my presence. Before this, I never had a problem with hiding in plain sight. Honestly, I'm at a loss. How are you holding up?"

Twyla threw her shoulders back and sighed shakily, "I'm so scared right now Billy. I have no idea what to do. I've never been out of the shadows for this long; much less been forcibly placed into the light. Plus, all my shadow maneuverability has been cut _off_. This is beyond frightening; this is a down right nightmare. I'm completely out of my element, here."

Billy placed a reassuring hand on Twyla's shoulder, "Hey, I know the situation looks bad but we will make it through this. I promise, I won't let anything bad happen to you. I got your back."

Twyla peered at Billy's face, a small smile graced her lips, she placed her hand over his, and tilted her head, "Don't make promises you can't keep, and thanks."

Billy removed his hand from her shoulder and shifted the bundle of uniforms to his other arm, "No problem, and I _keep_ my promises."

Twyla chuckled and shook her head, "I'm sure you try."

Billy glanced towards the rest of the room and then back at Twyla, "I mean it. You can still use the shadows at night, right? I've seen you go to bed there. How about we sneak out of here then."

Twyla tilted her head, "I've never tried a shadow jump with another person before, but I could give it a try."

Billy nodded and walked into the dressing room, "Tonight then."

Twyla turned and sashayed towards the register, "Tonight."

She handed the sales clerk her fitted uniforms and was given seven pairs of each type then told to sit down while everyone finished trying on clothes. When everyone was seated one of the sales clerks waved in Freddie. Freddie sauntered into the room and looked over Twyla and crew.

Freddie's eyes lit up and she winked at one of her shadow spirits, "What do you say we help these kiddies out, hmm?" She snapped her fingers and laughed while her shadow spirits swarmed Twyla and crew stripping off their clothes and exposing their nakedness. Freddie pointed and laughed while holding her side as she belted out, "Muahahaha! Oh man, I know I'm irresistible but get it together ghouls. You can't take off your clothes every time you see me."

She continued to laugh at her own joke while Twyla and crew dressed in embarrassed silence. When Freddie noticed everyone had put on their regular clothes she snapped her fingers and had the spirits strip everyone again. She examined her long nails and spoke to the nearest shadow spirit, "Honestly whatever am I going to do with these fools?"

Freddie turned to Twyla and crew and pointed to herself. "Let me spell it out for you, this is a school uniform. This is the uniform you wear every day." She then grabbed a set of PTV gear, "This uniform is for PTV aka pillage the village. It is always the first class of the day. Can any of you mouth breathers tell me what you should be putting on?"

Abbey, an Amazonian-sized muscular girl with ice crystal blue skin replied, "PTV uniform?"

Freddie dropped the gear and clapped slowly, "Very good under-bite, PTV is the current uniform you should be wearing. Now can any of you fly-catchers accomplish such a daunting task?"

When everyone had on the uniform, Freddie placed her hands on her hips and marveled, "Finally. Y'all are going to have to speed up this whole getting dressed thing. I swear you won't make it out of here alive if you can't even get dressed in less than 32 seconds. Spectra take these beasties up to the dorm to drop off those uniforms then bring them to the outdoor drill pad. Duchess, Melody come with me."

Spectra avoided Freddie's gaze and nodded. "Follow me everyone."

Twyla and crew followed Spectra upstairs to the dorm. Once the door was closed Twyla took advantage of the Freddie free moment, "Spectra, what happened to you?"

Spectra with dull-eyes turned around. She looked at Twyla, blinked and then opened her eyes wide in recognition, "Oh my ghost, Twyla! I haven't seen you since my days at Monster High." She lowered her head with a sigh, "Oh! But you're _here_ now. I am so sorry; I wish you didn't have to be here."

Twyla tossed her uniform into the trunk next to her bed and sighed as she looked at Spectra, "Yeah, it was all so sudden but how did you get captured?"

Spectra wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered, "Well the person who captured me was oddly over-prepared to deal with ghost. I don't think I will ever forget the sight of that red-head. So glad we didn't go to school together. _I hate vacuum cleaners_!"

Frankie approached Spectra, "Can you tell us anything about where we are and if there is a way to escape?"

Spectra shook her head like she was trying to clear away bad thoughts, "I'm sorry Frankie but we really can't delay any longer. Freddie, Freddie controls a lot of things and last time I tried to chat with some friends Freddie locked me away in that small dark shadow box. I couldn't move, I could barely breath and that _music_! I…I'm sorry but you all have to go downstairs. Let's move out, _now_."

Spectra's hair began to float as she glowed a sinister shade of purple and chased Twyla and crew down the stairs and outside to the drill pad.

Freddie stood next to Melody and Duchess in the grass. She pointed at Twyla and crew when they arrived, "DJ Melody play these kids a beat they can scream to."

Melody's face flickered with contempt as she opened her purse to set up the portable DJ station. Pulling out headphones and a record Melody stated in a dead voice, "All right, DJ Pipes is dedicating this next beat to the new kids on the street, don't look back just keep moving those feet."

The moment the upbeat electronic music started playing giant rats darted out of the forest and gave chase to Twyla and crew. The squeaking of hungry rats nipping at her heels was nothing in comparison to the maniacal laughter of Freddie, "Muahahahaha! Pump up this beat Melody, keep it up. It's no fun if they run and don't cry."

After thirty minutes of non-stop cardio, Melody switched tracks to a yodeling song that sent the rats running back into the forest. The moment they were no longer being chased Twyla and crew fell to the ground where they stood. A loud clank of metal hitting the ground near Twyla's head made her look up. Robecca, the copper steam robot, was currently on the ground with steam whistling out of her feet at an alarming rate.

Twyla sat up, "Robecca, everything okay? I'm not a mechanic but…"

Robecca smiled pleasantly as she held up her smoking feet, "Just letting off a little steam, everything is quite all right really."

Duchess jogged over waving her arms wildly in the air, "Haaay, follow me."

Twyla and crew sticky from sweat and humidity, followed Duchess inside with Spectra following along behind them. Once upstairs in the dorms, Twyla and crew too tired to be shy, took off their clothes and grabbed their shower gear.

Spectra floated through the shower bay, turned on all the showers and gestured towards the flowing water, "All right everyone, put soap on your chest and shampoo on your head then walk through, the last one out turns off the shower as they pass. This is called the car wash and it is the only type of shower you will have time for in the mornings after PTV, which you can use to eat breakfast. Speaking of eating, it is almost lunch time so let's hurry."

Twyla and crew "car washed" through the shower before they donned the regular uniform. When everyone was dressed, Spectra floated down through the floor to go and retrieve Freddie.

Shortly afterwards Freddie burst through the dorms to escort Twyla and crew to the chow hall. Twyla was determined to eat this time around, she tried her best to remember the rules and regulations but she just couldn't remember what she was supposed to do, and she wasn't the only one. This time Lagoona, a girl with light aqua-blue scales and blonde hair turned too quickly while in line. Freddie was all too happy to send in her shadow spirits to snatch their trays and throw away their food.

Freddie cackled, "What am I going to do with you slackers? Y'all must really not want to eat. Duchess, whatever am I going to do with these little fools?"

Duchess danced on tip-toe over to Freddie, spun around in circles and honked, "Haauh, you might have to beat the rules into them Freddie."

Freddie sneered and backhanded Duchess causing her to go into black swan form. She snatched black feathers out of the air with a sneer, "That was a rhetorical question bird-brain. Tell you what you can do though, fly these little goslings upstairs and have them prep their dorm for the arrival of LT Delahaye."

Duchess honked, landed and became a girl. Her lip curled into a sneer and her eyes narrowed as she smoothed down her hair, "Haaauh, fine, geez no need to ruffle the feathers." She turned to Twyla and crew, "Come on, back up to the dorms. I will show you how to make it inspection ready."

Twyla looked back at the food line and sighed as she left the chow hall. In the hallway, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She glanced over her shoulder but saw no one. She smiled as a granola bar was placed in her hand. She shoved it into her mouth quickly as she walked up the stairs and noticed others of her class doing the same thing. Once in the dorm everyone wiped their faces and tried to look as innocent as possible.

Duchess placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow, "You guys are weirding me out. Any ways let me show you where your supplies are."

She walked past the entry control point and into the bed bay to the only closet along the wall. She opened it and went over all cleaning duties, "Make sure your hospital corners are at a 45-degree angle, you can cheat by using a coat hanger to make it straight. Trust me when I say, Delahaye can spot the difference between a 44 and a 45, haaauh. I remember when I made my first hospital fold, it was awwwwwful! Delahaye flipped my bed thirteen times! No one could go to chow until I got it right but we worked together. Well by we, I mean Spectra and Melody. That Freddie is pure evil, I swear."

The ruddy blue fairy with silver wings fluttered over to Duchess, "So like, how have you been. You went missing a _while_ ago and like, I never knew what happened."

Duchess leaned back and gaped at her. She blinked then jumped and hugged her, "Haaaauh! Faybelle, oh my gawwwwwd, I never thought you would end up in this hell hole. I should have guessed that when we snuck into Ever After High I would see some familiar faces, I just didn't think it would be my best friend forever after!"

Faybelle hovered in place, "Like, really, this place is terrible, have you not found a way to escape?"

Duchess raised her arms above her head and twirled in placed while still looking at Faybelle, "I wish! The only way to get out of here is to graaaaaaaaaduate."

Faybelle landed on the floor. Her shoulders slouched and her wings wilted as she pouted, "Seriously?"

Duchess nodded and crossed her arms over her chest, "No escape."

Faybelle opened her mouth to speak just as the door to the dorms burst open and in walked in Delahaye. Duchess stopped swirling and stood at the position of attention; Spectra floated at attention right next to Duchess. Delahaye looked them both up and down, rolled her eyes and waved them away. Duchess and Spectra left the dorm just as Freddie entered.

Delahaye looked around at the messy dorm and narrowed her eyes as she dictated, "Hello class 225. I see you are settling well. As you know you were brought here for the sole purpose of being trained into an elite unit of pirates, the strongest pirates this side of the Caribbean and since you are the largest class we have ever had I look forward to teaching you. I'm not going to sugar-coat it for you though, if you aren't strong enough to handle this training you will die."

Crecha planted her feet, leaned forward and balled her hands into fist at her side, "That is so stupid! How can you do this to people? You should be ashamed. All the students here were living normal lives until you snatched them from it and now you add insult to injury by saying the very thing your training us to do could kill us! That is just… _dumb_ , right Frankie?"

Frankie nodded in agreement, "Yeah, couldn't have said it better myself. Come on everyone there is only one of her and several of us, I know we can take her. You said it yourself Delahaye, we are the biggest class you've ever seen which makes us the most powerful, now take us home or face the consequences." Her neck bolts sparked and a bolt of electricity landed just shy of Delahaye's feet.

Delahaye frowned and turned to leave. She whispered as she passed Freddie, "I am extremely disappointed Corporal Facilier, I had _hoped_ you of all people could train these brats in a day but I see now that I was wrong. You can go inform your classmates that they will be going to bed without dinner. I hope the hunger pains keep you up tonight, perhaps it will motivate you to teach them properly tomorrow."

Freddie growled low in her throat as Delahaye left the dorm, "Oh I am already motivated."

The slam of the door closing behind Delahaye was the only warning Twyla and crew had before they were once again slammed face first onto the ground. Twyla cringed as the taste of blood mixed with granola in her mouth. Freddie stomped over to the prone figure of Frankie, grabbed her by the hair and ripped her head off.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which is trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Five:

Harsh Lessons to Learn

Gray, black and red. Blood and oil painted the cold porous floor. Twyla blinked stars out of her vision as the room returned to focus. Sound was muffled but soon screams pierced her ears. She glanced around and her eyes landed on a teacher standing in the dorms. This LT was the epitome of the Napoleon complex, everything from her hair to her clothes was puffed up to make her appear bigger. Her navy lieutenant's jacket and her white-collar button up both had the collars popped up, keeping her long hair away from her scowling ostrich-like face.

Twyla had never seen her before but she knew she needed to be on high alert. A headless body shifted behind Twyla. She turned and spotted Frankie's body with arms spread wide searching for her head.

Frankie's head called out while under the black leather boot of the teacher, "Hey, morning ma'am. Ehe, you are kind of crushing me."

The LT fumed as she kicked Frankie's head across the room, "What the hell! Gawd, this place is a joke this year. Ugh, why were you brats not at PTV this morning?"

Everyone glanced at each other in confusion. Abbey, the frost-skinned girl with the protruding tusk, stated in a matter of fact tone, "We not told when class start. Corporal Facilier, more focused on saying words than giving knowledge. Most inefficient. You tell us class schedule?"

The LT's face shook with rage changing from milky beige to red, matching her frizzy wild mane. Her piercing silver eyes narrowed to slits, as she screamed, "Arrrrrgh! What the hell! Just go to the frigging chow hall. _Now_!"

The LT turned sharply on her heel. Her long jacket and skirt fluttered in the breeze created. She slammed the dorm door shut behind her and dust swirled in the whirlwind.

Abbey strode over to Frankie's head and gave it to her body. "Was it something I said?"

Frankie placed her head on and held it in place, "Ah, much better. Yeah, Abbey, I don't think we need to say much to set these people off."

Abbey waggled her finger, "What you say is true which is why you shouldn't antagonize those lieutenants. While good you are thinking of escaping, first few days here most volatile time. Our captors are like snow troll around mountain goat, always trying to establish dominance. Best let them think they are in charge, then when they least expect it, we strike. For now, we observe."

Frankie experimentally tried to balance her head in one hand but it tilted and she gave up. She clutched her head and sighed, "Yeah, volatile doesn't even come close to describing these people. They are on a whole other level of mean."

Abbey folded her arms underneath her chest and nodded. A sloth-like zombie girl with dull gray skin groaned quietly behind Frankie.

Frankie turned around and grabbed the sewing kit from her, "Thanks Ghoulia, you're the best."

Ghoulia shook her head swinging cornflower blue hair as she shuffled towards Crecha who received her head from Cleo.

Cleo's chartreuse green eyes spotted the second sewing kit Ghoulia brought and she sashayed towards her bed, "Oh thank Rah. Ghoulia will put you back together."

Crecha steadied her head in her hands, "Thanks Cleo, it was a real pain in the neck having my head roll around."

Cleo flipped her chestnut brown hair over her shoulder revealing her gold highlights, "No problem, I would hate to have to _shoulder_ that burden."

Crecha winced as Ghoulia stuck the sewing needle into her skin reattaching her head.

Lagoona, the fish girl, looked at the clock anxiously, "I don't want to be the bearer of bad news but we really need to get a move on mates, that LT might have _all_ our heads if we are any later to chow."

Frankie and Crecha put themselves together as everyone walked downstairs, the final stitches went in before everyone reached the chow hall door.

Darling paused with her hand on the door handle, "Does everyone remember what exactly we are supposed to do? I'm really hungry and I want to eat this time."

Abbey scrunched her eyebrows and tapped her chin, "Hmm, I know we must walk to far tables, that seem big deal."

Lagoona nodded, "And keep the tray on the rail until it ends _then_ turn around to walk towards the table."

Darling nodded, "Anything else?"

Ghoulia groaned matter-of-factly. Darling blinked looked at everyone else then smiled charmingly at Ghoulia, "No offense, ah, Ghoulia but I'm afraid I do not understand you."

Ghoulia shrugged and groaned. Frankie looked at Ghoulia nodded then looked at Darling, "No worries, Zombese is an _acquired_ language. Ghoulia says to wait for everyone to arrive at your table before you sit down."

Darling nodded, "Got it. Ready everyone?"

Everyone nodded and Darling opened the door to the chow hall. Twyla and crew trepidly walked into the chow hall and got in line. Out the corner of Twyla's eye she spotted the dangling shrunken heads that held Freddie's pigtails. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. More than ever she wanted to jump in a shadow and hide forever but Freddie controlled the shadows and Twyla wanted to avoid her as much as possible.

She grabbed the tray and side-stepped. Waffles with fresh berries. Her mouth watered with hope. Her eyes spotted the shadow spirits as she walked to the far table. So far so good. She placed her tray and anxiously tapped her finger on her leg as her table filled up. Everyone was present. Her heart fluttered as she sat down. Would she finally get to eat? She reached for her fork and right before her eyes the spirits grabbed her food tray and dumped it in the trash. Her heart sank into her gut heavy with disappointment. Shadow spirits cackled as they chased them out of the chow hall and into the hallway. Tears flooded Twyla's eyes and her face flushed hot.

 _This is so not fair,_ Twyla thought to herself as she recalled her days of joy, lounging around in the Boogey mansion, playing shadow games and feasting on orphan nightmares. Now her life was a living nightmare, filled with bright lights, volatile strangers and an unknown location. She wasn't sure how much observing she would have to do to figure out how to escape, but she hoped it wouldn't take too long as she was not a fan of being starved and beaten every day.

Next to her Farrah, the timid pink fairy, and Lagoona were crying. Seeing their tears made the tears in Twyla's eyes fall.

Billy became visible in front of Twyla and placed a hand on her shoulder, "It's going to be okay, don't worry. I know this is frustrating but we'll get through this."

Twyla didn't spare him a glance as she shrugged solemnly, "Unless I die of starvation first."

Billy placed both hands on Twyla's shoulder and gave her a little shake, "Hey, none of that. We will make it, we just need to survive and to survive we need each other."

Twyla looked up at Billy, a hint of a smile gracing the corner of her lips. Billy smiled back and put his hands in his pockets just as the door to the chow hall opened.

Freddie waltzed out with her shadow spirits trailing behind her, "Oh me, oh my, I couldn't eat another bite, am I right?" She turned towards everyone and grinned widely, the witchdoctor markings around her eyes giving off the appearance of an extra set of teeth, "That's right, how silly of me, you haven't eaten at all."

Her onyx eyes scanned between everyone's faces, when she noticed Twyla's tears she made a mocking sad face, "Oh poor dear, are those tears for _me_?" She put her hand on her chest and blinked rapidly, "And to think I didn't get you anything." She threw her head back and cackled.

Twyla stood behind Billy with her hands balled into fist at her side. She peered around his arm with narrowed her eyes, "What is your deal?"

Freddie tilted her head to the side and pointed at Twyla, "I told you chumps yesterday what to do in the chow hall." She shifted her weight to one side, tilted her head to the other side and tapped her chin with her finger, "And if I recall correctly, I said I wasn't going to tell you again."

She narrowed her eyes and looked down her nose, "That's my deal." She snapped her fingers and shadow spirits grabbed Twyla and crew and slammed them bodily onto the ground. Freddie put her hands on her hip and leaned over them, "I also recall telling you that whenever you address me, you will use a reporting statement."

Twyla winced as she glared up at Freddie. Freddie's smirk fell slowly as she stared. She heard Ghoulia groan with surprise. She furrowed her brow then took a good look at Freddie. Ghoulia was right, something was off with Freddie, she was getting closer. Twyla tried to scoot away as Freddie reached down and grabbed her face.

Freddie lovingly whispered, "Orchid."

Twyla tried to turn her face but Freddie's coffin-shaped nails dug deeper into her skin.

Freddie shook her head and turned Twyla's head from side to side, "It's uncanny. A spitting image. How are you the shadow of my love?"

Twyla blinked, "What? I'm not a shadow."

Freddie let go of Twyla's face, stood up and placed her hands on her hips, "But you _sleep_ in shadow."

Twyla raised an eyebrow, "Yeah."

Freddie held her hands up and ticked off points on her fingers, "And you walk in shadows."

Twyla nodded. Freddie scrunched her face and leaned her head back, "But you're not a shadow."

Twyla nodded again, "Correct."

Freddie scratched at the tear-shaped brand on her cheek, "If you're not a shadow then what are…" Glass shattered in the hallway and she turned, "…disregard. Here comes LT O'Malley, line up against the wall."

The irate short LT from that morning stomped down the hallway, bits of glass protruded from her hair. Freddie stood at attention as she approached. The LT shoved some papers into Freddie's chest, "Give those out, make sure they know how to follow and take them on a hike since they missed out this morning, understood?"

Freddie shoved the papers into Twyla's chest then addressed the LT, "Yes, LT O'Malley."

LT O'Malley grunted, spun on her heel with coat tails flapping behind her as she stomped down the hall and jumped through the nearest window, glass scattering everywhere.

Freddie turned towards everyone, "Well _that_ was LT Grace O'Malley. You missed PTV with her this morning. I know I told all of you that the sound of reveille means get up get dressed and run down to the outdoor drill pad yesterday. Y'all are the most forgetful freshman I have ever met in my life. And since I've had to tell you again…"

The door to the chow hall opened revealing Melody, Duchess, and Spectra. When they saw Freddie and the freshman their faces fell.

Freddie smiled at them and they flinched. She folded her arms, "…right on time girls. Right on time. My dear Melody, LT O'Malley was highly upset these freshmen didn't show up to PTV this morning and she wants us to give them a special session. Spectra you can give these newbies a tour later, matter of fact, take their schedules upstairs and wait for them there. Melody and I will meet you in about…" She turned and looked up at the giant clock above the main door, "Thirty minutes."

Spectra sighed and nodded as she took the schedules from Twyla then floated towards the dorms. Melody looked down and past Freddie as she spoke in a monotone voice, "Freddie, we have class to attend. We already used our free day to teach them the ways of the school, there's no need-" A dagger sliced through the air and cut Melody's cheek. Blood flowed down Melody's cheek and dripped off her chin.

Freddie sneered, hand poised to throw another dagger, "Today is not the day to test me Melody. Now get your DJ gear and get these kids marching."

Melody shook as she raised a hand to wipe away the blood. She clenched the blood in her fist as she lowered it to her side. She trembled as she spoke, but her face and voice remained unexpressive, "All right, DJ Pipes is here to bring you the beats that make you move your feet."

Freddie stepped up to Melody as her gaze lingered on Melody's closed fist. She backhanded her across the other cheek. "I _know_ I told you to drop the attitude. Now drop it."

Melody's burgundy and white hair obscured her face as she took a deep breath and unclenched her fist. She let out a long breath then looked down at the ground as she spoke in the same monotone voice she had used before, "DJ Pipes here, totally in check, I'll shuffle the deck to show you mad respect."

Freddie put her hands one her hips, looked Melody up and down once more and grinned baring her canines, "That's what I thought. Now take these kiddies out to play and make it snappy."

Melody still looking at the ground nodded. She reached into her purse, pulled out a piccolo and played a marching tune. Twyla felt her body twist and lurch of its own accord. Before she could stop herself, she had started walking.

Duchess folded her arms, rolled her eyes and chickened her neck at Freddie as Twyla's class walked past, "Let me guess, you want _me_ to go and tell LT Montoya that we're not going to make it class because _you_ have decided, all on your own, our schedule for the day."

A resounding smack echoed in the hallway, followed by the indignant squawking of Duchess in swan form. Melody's song picked up tempo. Their boots hit loose gravel as they marched onto the outdoor drill pad. Without missing a beat, Melody switched to her DJ turntable and played a mix. The moment the mix played large rats emerged from the woods and the chase began. Rocks scattered and pebbles pelted as Twyla and crew ran.

Twyla was exhausted and without the hypnotic sound of the flute forcing her to move it was difficult to summon the energy to keep going. Ghoulia, who decayed at a faster rate than most, was the first to be overrun by the rats. Twyla gasped in horror as the rats ripped the limbs off of Ghoulia. Abbey huffed over to Ghoulia and weakly shot small shards of ice at the rats. Ghoulia moaned weakly from her position on the ground as everyone jogged up to her. The rats maneuvered around the ice but Melody changed the track and the rats dashed into the woods.

Melody's eyes brimmed with unshed tears as she spoke in a brittle voice, "Are you okay?"

Ghoulia groaned in agony. Cleo's face shook as she shouted, "I demand you retrieve a trained medical professional; can't you see Ghoulia is in _pain!"_

Melody flinched at Cleo's tone but as she opened her mouth to speak Duchess pirouetted over to her. She schooled her face and wiped her eyes as she slouched.

Duchess had a swollen black eye. She squinted as she looked at everyone's solemn faces, "Caaaawwm on, follow me to the dorms. Melody will take your zombie friend to LT Montoya in the infirmary."

Cleo placed her hands on her hips and glared at Duchess, " _Ghoulia_. Her name is Ghoulia and you will take all of us to this _Montoya_ so I can ensure the proper treatment of my serv- my _friend_."

Duchess gestured for everyone to follow her as she danced on tip-toe away from Cleo. A trembling Melody bent down and slowly placed Ghoulia's torn parts into her purse with Ghoulia groaning the entire time. Twyla and crew followed Duchess though they constantly looked back at Ghoulia until she disappeared from sight as the heavy doors closed.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which are trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Six:

Pirated Mix

One foot in front of the other. Twyla drifted in a state of shock up the winding stairs. She leaned on the metal railing for support for her heart and her body was far too heavy. Ghoulia, the smartest ghoul she knew, had just been dismembered. Sure she was a zombie but zombies decayed at a faster rate than normal, once they fell apart there wasn't much left to their unlife. When her feet finally reached the fifth floor landing she let out a long sigh. The distance from the stairs to the dorm door seemed far too much trouble. The grey stone floor looked more inviting. A gentle nudge urged her forward and all shuffled in solemn silence as they entered the blue walled dorm.

Spectra, already present, floated over to them, "All right everyone, you should go ahead and car wash through the showers and get dressed."

When everyone shuffled past Spectra, she tilted her head then turned to Duchess. "What's eating them?"

Duchess put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at Spectra, "Huuuh? Melody's rats ate them. Well just _one_ of them, that zombie girl."

Cleo leaned around the corner with narrowed eyes as she yelled out, "Her name is Ghoulia and unless you want to find yourself without your innards I suggest you get it right."

Spectra's eyes widened and she cupped her face with her hands, "Oh my ghost, poor Ghoulia! That is terrible."

Duchess shrugged and honked, "Yeaaaaah, I left Melody on clean up. She should be in the infirmary by now."

Spectra towered over Duchess with her hands balled into fist as she screeched, "Duchess Sable Swan! How careless are you! You're just as bad as Freddie, now Melody won't speak for a week."

Duchess cowered under Spectra, "S-sorry I didn't think-"

Spectra's whole body shook with glowing rage, "Of course you didn't think! You never do! You didn't have to stay up all night on suicide watch with Melody last time."

Duchess held her hands up defensively, "I'll go check on her." She pivoted on her toes and dashed out the dorm.

Spectra took a calming breath and turned towards the bed bay where everyone stood dressed in clean uniforms. She forced a smile on her face and handed out the schedules. "All right, here is your class schedule. You missed most of your classes this morning but tomorrow is another day so no worries. Reveille will sound at 0530. When you hear it just jump out of bed, run down stairs to the outdoor drill pad and line up behind the freshman line. It will be red just like your belt. I recommend that you sleep in your PTV gear so you won't be late. LT O'Malley is quite the loose cannon and she won't hesitate to shoot an actual cannon at you so don't give her just cause. Let's see what else is on here…"

She glanced at the schedule. "Okay, so after PTV go shower then run down to breakfast. I hope you all remember what to do, I would hate to have Freddie toss your food again. After breakfast-"

Blondie, the girl with sunglow yellow hair, held up her hand, "Ah, yeah Spooky. We are going to need a rundown of chow hall etiquette. We are oh and three for lost lunches and our odds of eating here are growing more dismal with each passing day."

Spectra tilted her head, "Spooky? My names Spectra, have you met my cousin before or something? We really don't look alike."

Blondie quirked a brow, "Ah, no," she snapped her fingers and smacked her palm with her fist, "So how about those chow hall rules..."

Spectra nodded, "Right. You grab the tray and face forward. Only answer the lunch ladies' questions with a yes ma'am or no ma'am. Side step through the line, lift your tray when the counter ends, turn and walk straight to the farthest table, two on the left, two on the right, put your tray down, put your bag down, stand at attention, wait for everyone to arrive at the table _then_ sit down. When you finish a drink, flip the cup over. When you finish eating put the napkin on the plate. If the table behind you finishes eating before you, you are done eating and your whole table has to stand up and throw away your food. Please watch each other carefully but don't look at anything but your food and don't talk. Any questions?"

Cleo folded her arms, "Will anyone be taking food to Ghoulia?"

Spectra held a hand up, "LT Montoya will have everything Ghoulia needs. If there is an opportunity, I will take everyone on a tour of the school, we can stop by the infirmary then. Now as for the rest of the schedule…"

She finished going over their schedule just as the bell for second block rang, she smiled and waved for them to follow as she floated towards the dorm room door. They walked down black stone steps where Freddie stood waiting against the cream-colored stone wall.

Freddie smirked up at Spectra, "I was just coming to check up on you. How are the kiddies?"

Spectra gestured to everyone, "I've briefed them on everything they need to know and was just about to escort them to class."

Freddie folded her arms and nodded, "About damn time, LTs have been looking at me funny all day."

Farrah held her hand up tentatively, "Ummm, Cor… Corporal Facilier?"

Freddie turned towards her and raised an eyebrow, "Yes?"

Farrah put her hands together and looked at the ground sheepishly, "I… I need to use the bathroom…"

Freddie put her hands on her hips and snorted, "Bathroom? You don't have the luxury of taking a _bath_ in the middle of the day but if you need to _tinkle_ you can go use the latrine."

Farrah nodded staring intently at the ground, "Yes ma'am. May I go?"

Freddie rolled her eyes and thrust her thumb behind her head, "Sure. It's that way."

Farrah started to head in the direction indicated and everyone else started to follow.

Freddie furrowed her brow and held her hand up, "What the… where are _all_ of you going?"

Blondie huffed, "I need to go too."

Freddie rolled her eyes and glanced at everyone, "Who else needs to go?"

Darling, Twyla, Frankie, Crecha, Lagoona, Cleo, Evie, Faybelle, Abbey, and Robecca raised their hands.

Freddie let out a heavy sigh, "Ugh, this is what I hate about women, they synchronize _everything_." She turned towards Spectra, "Take these kiddies to the latrine then show them around. Be sure they know where their classes are going to be."

Spectra grumbld, "Of course, I don't need to go to class, I have nothing better to do than be _escort_."

Freddie sucked her teeth and stuck her finger in her ear, "I'm sorry, I must have wax in my ears because I thought I heard some _lip_ just now."

Spectra floated towards Farrah and waved for them to follow, "I'll show you the latrine."

Twyla and crew followed as Spectra led them into the hallway that held clothing sales on the right side and the laundry room on the left side of the hall. Two latrine doors were along the wall before reaching the open arch that led to the laundry room. All the women of Twyla's class entered the latrine leaving Billy alone in the hall with Spectra.

Twyla tapped her foot as she stood in line. There were only three stalls and twelve women that needed to go. Farrah, Cleo and Faybelle had sprinted into the stalls with Evie, Darling and Abbey next in line. Robecca, Frankie and Crecha were next followed by Blondie, Lagoona and Twyla.

Blondie glared at Robecca, "Umm, aren't you a _robot_? Why are you even _in_ line?"

Robecca turned towards Blondie, "The humidity of this island is at 120 percent with a temperature of 33 degrees Celsius. I require a humidity below twenty percent to function at an optimal rate. I've gotten too hot and my water is boiling, I must empty the reservoir and refill with cooler waters."

Blondie rolled her eyes, "Can't you do that in the sink?"

Robecca gasped, "I would never empty my reserves in the sink, that would be indecent exposure."

Blondie put her hands on her hips, "Again, you're just a robot, I really don't see what the big deal is."

Robecca shook her head and side stepped as someone exited a stall, "Well _you_ are just a carbon-based life-form with a disproportionate glyceride to water ratio that pollutes the very oxygen around you with inane hypothesis on toilet etiquette."

Blondie frowned, "What?"

Abbey folded her arms and huffed, "For sack of lard you blow hot air."

Blondie gasped and side-stepped once more as another stall was vacated, "Rude! My weight is just right!"

Crecha chuckled and jabbed at Blondie's pocket, "Says the girl sneaking granola bars in her pockets."

Lagoona perked up and stared intensely at Blondie, "You have food? When did you get it? How did you get it?"

Blondie held her hands up defensively, "Whoa! Back up, wait a minute! Jeez, the granola bars are right behind you in line, all you have to do is turn around and grab some."

Twyla furrowed her brow and peeked around Lagoona to look at Blondie, "We're not supposed to turn around."

Blondie shrugged, held her hand up and rolled her neck, "And? Would you rather go the rest of your days here hungry? Cause let me tell you I'm never going to remember all those damn rules."

Cleo dried her hands off and turned towards Twyla, "Chubby has a point, these chow hall rules are a set up for failure and this is a _pirate_ school. The challenge isn't to see how well you follow the rules but to see how many rules you can break without getting _caught_."

Another stall opened and everyone side-stepped. Robecca hummed thoughtfully, "What a splendid hypothesis Cleo! I do believe you are on to something."

Frankie tilted her head to the side and leaned against the wall, "But how are we going to turn around without getting caught?"

Blondie scoffed, "Freddie only watches us as we go into the line and when we sit at the table. Before we leave the food line, turn around, grab a bar then stuff it in your pocket."

Faybelle dried her hands off and stood by the door, "Ooh, I like this plan!"

Darling glanced at Faybelle with a raised eyebrow, "Of course you like the plan, it involves skirting the rules."

Faybelle folded her arms and snorted, "So you would rather starve?"

Darling shook her head and walked towards the door, "I didn't say that. Cleo makes an excellent point; this place is designed to train riff raff and if we want to survive it, we will need to sink to their level on occasion."

Faybelle rolled her eyes, "Ugh, whatever after Charming. You in or you out?"

Darling huffed as another stall was vacated, "I'm in. I just think that we should inform our male counterpart of the plan. It would be a shame if he didn't get to partake."

Twyla snorted, "Billy will be fine. He's going to take food regardless of if we tell him to or not."

Darling raised a delicate eyebrow and looked down her nose at Twyla, "You seem to know a lot about his character, is he prone to thievery?"

Twyla blinked, "Uhh, no, but if you'll recall he already grabbed us some snacks before. He'll probably grab some more because he knows we'll be hungry. He's that kind of guy."

Darling's face relaxed and she let out a sigh of relief, "So he's considerate. That is good to know."

Lagoona tilted her head to the side and looked at Darling sideways, "Yeahhh, good to know."

Farrah stood beside Faybelle as another stall was vacated, "Umm, it's getting a little crowded… I think I'll just go stand outside."

Faybelle grabbed Farrah's shoulder, "Hey Goodfairy, are you in or are you out?"

Farrah stiffened and looked over her shoulder at Faybelle, "Oh! I'm ummm, I'm in."

Faybelle let go of Farrah and smirked, "Good. Make sure to be discrete, I don't want to get kicked out of the chow hall because you panicked and knocked over all the granola bars… on second thought, I'll grab your portion, you'll definitely mess it up."

Farrah blushed and looked down at her feet, "Oh… of course… I… thank you, Faybelle."

Faybelle flicked her bangs out of her face, "Like, no problem, what are friends for?"

Evie's bright brown eyes glanced at Faybelle in the mirror, "As long as you grab one for me, we'll be good to go!"

Faybelle scoffed, "Uh nooo, you can grab your own."

Evie blew kisses at her reflection, "I'm sure you can grab extra."

Faybelle rolled her eyes, "Get tubby to grab you some, I'm already grabbing for two."

Evie fluffed her midnight blue tresses, "Fine."

Blondie narrowed her eyes, "Are you talking about me?"

Faybelle smirked at Blondie and Blondie growled.

Once everyone had finished, they exited the latrine and followed Spectra down the main hall past the chow hall towards the hall of windows. Twyla furrowed her brow at the peculiar sight of the shadow-less archway as she passed. There was enough space for two latrines and yet the dim area held no shadow. It was entirely unnatural for past the arches on the right was a wall with ceiling high windows. Light flooded the hallway illuminating the two twenty-foot tall Corinthian style stone columns that framed the windows and yet there was not one shadow present.

Twyla pinched her lips together and looked opposite the windows where two ten-foot-tall doors were labeled room one and room two. Spectra led them to classroom one, where a tall woman stood behind a black oak wood desk arranging papers.

There was a blackboard with the words, LT Walker, scrawled in neat and colorful cursive. Twyla glanced around and noted how the black oak wood panel walls were barely visible beneath the various English working aides and recipes. She made her way to a bench desk towards the back where the shadows should have been longest. She slid over on the polished black oak wood seat to make room for a second person.

The latch creaked open to reveal books and pencils already present as Billy, invisible, explored their surroundings. Billy hummed thoughtfully, "This is in pretty good shape."

LT Walker smiled at Spectra as everyone filed into the classroom, "Oh good, they made it. I was afraid Corporal Facilier intended on running them around the school all day."

Spectra floated over to LT Walker and sat on the desk looking downtrodden, "Oh LT Walker, Freddie is just awful. I'm afraid I might not be able to rest this year."

Walker sighed deeply as everyone found a seat, "Yes, the rules here do make it impossible for seniors to get any rest with new freshman. I'll have a chat with Delahaye and O'Malley, see if they can get Freddie to calm down. Okay?"

Spectra nodded and drifted towards the door, "Thank you ma'am."

Walker waved goodbye, "You take care now."

Spectra returned the wave and left the classroom.

Walker turned and smiled, "Afternoon everyone, I'm LT Addy Walker."

Everyone sullenly replied, "Afternoon ma'am."

Walker chuckled and reached into a drawer in her desk, "I wouldn't be too thrilled to be in your shoes either. Let me guess, no sleep, nothing to eat, and you're afraid of what's going to happen next. Sound, about right?"

Everyone nodded numbly as Walker pulled out a large tin with a ribbon and pulled off the lid, "Well that's not a bit of good. Can't teach a class full of starving children."

Walker grabbed the tin and crossed the room, depositing a wax paper wrapped treat on each desk. Twyla ripped it open and smiled as heat visibly rose off her chicken empanada. She ate and observed Walker.

Walker was a muscular towering woman with warm sepia brown skin. Her braided hair swung like a pendulum as she glided around the classroom with a kind smile gracing her features.

Walker waited for everyone to finish eating before she spoke, "It appears that I am the first class all of you have made it to this week. I teach all things English and Literature related, I am also the home economics teacher. Now before you give me that look," She chuckled, "the one you are giving _right_ now-"

Most had a look of confusion on their face, Walker continued, "I fought to have home ec' put in the curriculum because if you are at sea with only a handful of rations you must know how to make the best of what you have. Sewing, cooking and even child-rearing are all essential skills for sailing. _Trust me_."

Cleo threw her hand up, "Why must we go to sea at all? We have literally been kidnapped from our homes and I'm really not keen on learning from my captors."

Murmurs of agreement echoed throughout the room.

Walker laced her hands together and sighed, "Even I don't want to be here, but there' s nothing we can do to change our situation at this current time. This school… this institution, it's a prison. The ground you walk upon thirsts for fresh unh-" She leaned forward and gripped the desk for support. Blood oozed out the corner of her mouth. She coughed and she wiped it away with a handkerchief.

Twyla started to get out of her seat but an invisible hand on hers stopped her.

Walker coughed a few more times before she straightened and continued, "Well, as you can see, Captain Jones… the vice principal, has ensured that everyone that's brought here stays here. The only way to leave is to earn your way out and Captain Jones is very particular. She is a slave to her whims and in turn enslaves everyone else."

Cleo grimaced, "If we were to fight?"

Walker shook her head, "Those who've fought Koda Jo never returned home."

Cleo raised an eyebrow and framed her face with her hands, "You just informed me that the vice principal is the head of this operation and now you tell me that's she's impossible to fight? I am a _De-Nile_ and fighting for my people is what I do best. There may be pain involved but it is a risk I am willing to take if I can leave." Everyone clapped and cheered as Cleo posed dramatically.

Walker looked mildly impressed, "You De-Niles never cease to amaze me, so alike and yet so different. I taught your sister _Nefera_ for quite a while, sad to say she lost her life in her fight against this institution."

Cleo's jaw dropped, " _Nefera_?

Walker nodded, "I would prefer if you stayed alive."

Everyone fell silent as the weight of Walker's words settled in their hearts.

Walker turned around and made her way back to the front of the classroom, "Does everyone have pencils and paper?"

Everyone put their supplies on their desk and Walker nodded, "Good, you have class with me for two and a half hours, _try_ not to fall asleep."

Class concluded and the bell rang, Freddie and her shadow minions arrived at the door. She nodded in acknowledgement of LT Walker before turning towards everyone, "Come along scrubs, it's lunch time." She glanced at her nails and smirked, "Well, for me at least. Let's see how well you do this time."

Twyla and crew packed their satchels and lined up behind Freddie. The walk from the hall of windows to the chow hall seemed to last forever. Their boots clicked against black stone tiles. Other students skirted around them, speaking in hushed tones to avoid the wrath of Freddie. The grand doors to the chow hall where just ahead and when they swung open beams of warm sunlight danced across the floor inviting them in with a perfume of freshly baked goods. As Twyla got in line she glanced at her classmates. They all nodded slightly in acknowledgement, _Operation: Grab and Go_ was a go.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which are trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Seven:

Grief Orientation

Freddie's shadow minions hovered over them as they grabbed their trays but when they side-stepped in line most of the shadow minions diverted to patrol the chow hall though two lingered. Twyla nervously replied to everything the lunch ladies asked her, Freddie was in the line with them and she did not want to get caught.

Blondie, the first one of their crew in line casually reached behind her and grabbed a handful of granola bars. Twyla steeled herself, she could do it. Just keep her head straight-forward, reach back and take a granola bar. No big deal. Freddie's cackling laughter made her skin crawl and as she drew closer to the granola bars she peered at Freddie through the corner of her eye. She raised her left hand, put it behind her back and stretched. Sweat beaded up on her back as she realized her arm wasn't long enough to reach the bars without stepping out of line. She glanced up at Faybelle and Faybelle rolled her eyes as she reached back with long graceful arms and handed Twyla several bars before grabbing several bars for herself. Twyla sighed with relief and moved out of the line to walk towards a table.

Twyla felt her confidence rising as she sat down to eat. So far so good, she picked up her fork and began shoveling food in her face. She almost forgot to breath she was eating so fast. Never in her life could she recall a time when she cleared a plate without tasting the meal. Heck, she forgot what she had even eaten. She chugged one drink and set it on her tray. She was just about to reach for her second drink when Freddie's shadow spirits snatched everyone's trays away. Twyla blinked then closed her eyes and sighed as she realized what happened. She forgot to flip her cup over. Twyla stood up with clenched jaw and shuffled out of the chow hall. Once in the hall she glanced up at the clock, it had barely been one minute since she sat down. At least she got to eat all her food this time.

Freddie strolled over towards Twyla and crew with her hands on her hips, "Well well well, _somebody_ forgot the cup rule. Doesn't surprise me, the weak always have to be told what to do over and over. I swear you'd probably forget your head if it wasn't attached to your shoulders." She jerked her thumb over her shoulder and smirked, "No time like the present to show you to your next class."

They solemnly followed Freddie. Twyla glanced at Faybelle and smiled; the granola bars heavy in her pocket. Faybelle rolled her eyes and shrugged dismissively as they walked down the hall.

An explosion sounded in the distance followed by a scream. Glass shattered and LT O'Malley rolled out of the wreckage and stomped up to Freddie. She jabbed a finger in Freddie's ribs and huffed, "Delahaye wants these brats upstairs NOW!"

Freddie backed away from the fuming O'Malley and nodded, "Yes Ma'am." She then turned towards everyone, "Class with LT Montoya will have to wait, follow me."

Confused Twyla and crew followed Freddie back up to the dorm. Upon arrival to the dorms, they stood in shock at the state of it. Beds were upside down and laying as though tossed by a tornado. Clothes were strewn all over the floor, sheets were dangling from the ceiling fans and pacing back and forth in the middle of it all was LT Delahaye.

When Delahaye made eye contact with Freddie she folded her arms and narrowed her eyes, "So, we don't teach standards anymore? We just leave dorm rooms, with unmade beds, dirty laundry hanging out of the basket and soap suds smeared against the shower walls? Facilier, I am really beginning to wonder if you can handle a leadership position. True leaders don't let one little success go to their head."

Freddie clenched her fist and stood at attention, "LT Delahaye, permission to speak."

Delahaye cocked her hip and jerked her chin upward, "Go ahead Fred."

Freddie grimaced at the nickname but continued speaking, "LT Delahaye, I had my classmates teach these freshmen everything they are supposed to do, these freshmen just can't seem to grasp it."

Delahaye looked at her nails, "Well, the members of Class 221 were only supposed to gather _four_ of these freshmen. You chose to kill that class and take _fourteen_ , if you couldn't handle the job perhaps you should have stayed asleep that night."

Freddie's eyes widened, "LT Delahaye, I am well up for the task-"

Delahaye cut her off, "So you say, and yet thus far all I have seen is a group of misfits that can't follow rules. They don't show up to class and they already have one injured party member. You may have grabbed worthy treasure but you clearly grabbed the weakest freshman class this school has ever seen and you fail on all levels at keeping them in check. You're dismissed face-stealer."

Freddie leaned forward, "But ma'am I-"

"You're _dismissed_."

Freddie closed her mouth and stalked out of the dorms. Twyla knew that Freddie was going to take out her frustration on them later and she did not look forward to it. They turned towards Delahaye and stood at attention waiting for instructions.

Delahaye stared hard at Crecha and Frankie almost daring them to speak. Both remained quiet. After a long pause she clicked her tongue impatiently, "Well what are you waiting for, clean up this _mess_. You have ten minutes to get it inspection ready."

Twyla and crew hopped to it. They ran to and fro cleaning as quickly as possible, Twyla seemed to have a natural knack for making the perfect hospital corner on her bed. Darling, the brave blonde girl to the right of her bed, was not so good at hospital corners but Twyla didn't have time to worry about that. She had to make sure her dirty laundry bag was properly zipped up and all her clothes were refolded into seven-inch squares in her trunk.

When the ten minutes were up, Delahaye's heels clicked down the aisle as she inspected everything. She stopped with her heels together, did an about-face and glared at everyone until they squirmed under her gaze. She smirked and raised her glowing red hands. A wind from nowhere scattered the beds, the clothes, and sheets. "Do it over, this time do it right and in half the time."

Twyla and crew sighed and got back to cleaning, as Twyla knelt down to pick up her dirty laundry a granola bar slid out of her pocket. Darling quickly covered it before Delahaye spotted it.

Twyla mouthed thank you then looked around, she needed to hide the bars so she could continue cleaning. A tap on her shoulder alerted her to the presence of an invisible Billy.

Billy whispered, "I pushed up the ceiling tile above my bed, I'll give you a boost."

Twyla looked over her shoulder at an occupied Delahaye before turning back to Billy, "Okay, but don't drop me."

She went invisible as Billy grabbed her waist and carried her up to his bed. It was weird not seeing herself but she didn't have time to worry about it. Billy pushed the tile up and she emptied her pockets. When she was finished, Billy lowered the tile and carried her down to the floor, leaving her behind a pile of clothes.

Delahaye made her way over to Darling and ripped the sheets off, "Have you ever made a bed in your life? Start over."

Twyla hurried to sort her clothes and zipped her laundry bag as Delahaye scrutinized her.

Delahaye's green eyes bore into the back of Twyla's head, "What's taking you so long to put clothes in a _bag_?"

Twyla glanced up at Delahaye and Delahaye rolled her eyes. Twyla let out a sigh of relief as Delahaye walked away from her. When everyone had completed their task, Delahaye scoffed and made them do it repeatedly until well past dinner before she was finally satisfied and left the dorms.

Blondie didn't waste a second and climbed up to Billy's bed to grab a bar out of the ceiling tile, "Alright girls! Tonight, victory taste like oats and honey."

Billy became visible and raised an eyebrow, "Uhhh okay and what will victory taste like for _me_?"

Blondie looked over her shoulder and rolled her eyes, "You know what I meant!"

Billy folded his arms and smirked, "Yeah, got it but my victory will taste like nuts and yogurt."

Blondie glanced at the bar label then tossed it to Billy, "Eww."

Darling crossed the room to stand beside Billy and look at the bar, "I don't think I've ever had the nut and yogurt one before…"

Billy held it out for Darling, "Now's as good a time as any to try it. Unless you're allergic or you don't like the combination of pistachio, almonds, cashews _and_ hazelnut. The flavor can be a bit overwhelming."

Darling took the bar and opened it, "Thank you, but I can handle a few nuts."

Billy turned his face to the side as he muttered, "I'm sure you can."

Twyla rolled her eyes and glanced up at Blondie, "Toss me a bar."

Lagoona held her hand out, "Me too mate, I'm starved!"

Blondie growled, "Hold your horses, one at a time. We probably have all night."

A shadow spirit cackled as it drifted around them. Abbey scowled, "I think not."

Blondie quickly closed the tile and hopped off the bed as Freddie burst through the door. Everyone quickly hid the bars under the sheets of Twyla's bed just as Freddie rounded the corner.

Freddie slammed her fist into her palm and glared at everyone, "Its high time I pound some lessons into you brats."

The rest of the week kept Twyla and crew focused on their new daily grind. Forced early wake up, volatile PTV, quick "car wash" shower, lick a biscuit breakfast, dash into one class, shoved into the next class, beaten up at lunch, rushed through two classes, forced fast dinner, brutal night chores, never private shower, dead sleep and repeat.

Their lives continued like this until Saturday when Freddie and the seniors stop coming. No reveille was played, no one came to their door and they sat in quiet silence as the clocked ticked the time not knowing what to do. Finally, around nine in the morning the door to the dorm creaked open. No footsteps were heard but when Twyla blinked, their _H.A.D._ teacher, a very sharp Chinese woman with honey beige skin, stood at the entrance of the bed bay.

LT Ching's dark brown eyes scanned their frightened faces, "It has recently been brought to my attention by Corporal Vondergiest that none of you were made aware of the fact that Saturday is a free day to study. Chow hall is open from 0600 to 1200 from brunch and then from 1700 to 0000 for dinner. As freshman, you are of course expected back in your dorm room by 2100 but for the most part you are free to go to chow and back to your dorm at any time during this day. You are also permitted limited use of the library during the day time hours but only with the written consent of a LT for any projects during the semester. If you are injured you are to make your way to the infirmary, and if you wish to make visits, keep the visits short as LT Montoya is a busy woman and will not tolerate excessive noise. Understood?"

Everyone responded, "Yes LT Ching."

When Twyla blinked the entrance was empty. Twyla briefly wondered if the LT had been a mirage, conjured up by her fatigued mind but she quickly dismissed the idea and readied herself for chow. No one was present in the freshman hall. Timid footsteps took to the winding stairs. It was quiet, sound tapped against the smooth rock walls as they descended. The whir of washing machines greeted her ear as they reached the bottom steps. She stared at the twisted metal arch not wanting to turn her back to it lest she receive an unpleasant surprise.

Billy, invisible, opened the heavy chow hall doors. A small spattering of students was already present, though Twyla hadn't formally gotten to know them. She went through the line, careful to remember all the instructions before taking her seat. They ate breakfast in silence awaiting the inevitable presence of Freddie but it never came. Her paranoia was at an all-time high. What kind of test was this? It couldn't actually be a day to rest and study, could it? They completed their meal and made the long trek back up the stairs.

A thud from their floor made them jump. They glanced at one another and darted up the stairs two at a time. _I knew it. I knew it was too good to be true._ Abbey yanked opened the dorm door and they rushed towards the bed bay. It was clean. There were no shadow spirits, no teachers, no Freddie. A stack of books on the floor indicated the source of the noise. Blondie sighed and grabbed the books as everyone found a place to sit. They stared at one another. Each lost in thought. Twyla mused to herself. _Now's as good a time as any to come up with the perfect escape plan._


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which are trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Eight:

It's Never Too Late

After several minutes of awkward silence Cleo fell back onto her bed and threw her arm over her face as she posed dramatically, "I can't take it anymore. Ghoulia torn apart by rats, no servants to obey my commands and worst of all, having dictators force _me_ to do _manual_ labor. I can't go on like this. Ahhhh hahhhh."

Faybelle, the ruddy blue fairy, sat down on the bed next to Cleo, "Like, tell me about it. Getting people to fear me is kind of _my_ thing. This school is, like, destroying my rep."

Darling's light blue eyes landed on Faybelle as she raised an elegant eyebrow, "Faybelle, _no one_ feared you at Ever After High."

Faybelle rolled her eyes and leaned back on the bed, "Ugh, like, they were going to when I graduated and followed my royal destiny. Being heir to the dark fairy throne, like, sooo makes people fear me. You just aren't part of my story so obviously, you aren't scared. Doiy!"

Darling closed her eyes and shook her head then looked over at Cleo, "So Cleo, since you have servants, I'm guessing you're a royal also?"

Cleo sat up quickly and placed a hand on her chest as she scoffed, "Am I a _royal_? Ha! I am _the_ royal. I'm a De-Nile, and I hail from the longest running royal dynasty in history. Surely, you've seen my name in your history books, I was a living pharaoh once long ago. Of course, I loved the people so much I just couldn't stay away and I woke in my tomb to come to their aid." She gazed at the ceiling as she posed dramatically on the bed. Twyla covered her mouth to try and stifle a laugh.

Cleo lowered her head and crossed her arms over her chest as she glared, "Uh, _girl_ whose name I don't remember, _what_ is so funny?"

Twyla held her hands up defensively, "Didn't mean any offense Cleo just wondering why you bothered attending high school if your sole purpose in waking was _the people_."

Cleo let out a loud sigh and threw her arm over her head, "Oh, it was a tragedy. The people who built my tomb sealed it completely shut. I was locked in my pyramid for years." She glanced at her nails, "Sure, I had plenty of time to master my powers but those were _useless_ since I couldn't use it to benefit my people. By the time I escaped my tomb so much time had passed I didn't know what was going on anymore and _I_ can't be out of the loop. I _am_ the loop. So, my family decided it would be best to familiarize ourselves with recent events. Furthering my education is the best thing for _my_ people."

Darling put her hands together and smiled, "What an admirable goal Cleo. I hope that when I rule my kingdom, the people will hold me in the same regard."

Blondie's periwinkle blue eyes sparkled as she looked at Darling, "Hohoho! I'm sure your rule will be just right. You are a Charming after all."

Cleo raised an eyebrow, "A Charming? Sounds quite _pleasant_. If you would like, I can give you all kinds of pointers about ruling a kingdom."

Faybelle crossed her legs and pointed between Cleo, Darling and herself, "So you're a queen, you're a future queen and I'm a future queen. Like, all we need is one more queen to have a royal four-of-a-kind."

Evie, a girl with a heart shaped face and cool creamy beige skin waved enthusiastically from her bed. "Well you needn't look any further, you have another future queen right here." She held her hands up and pointed to herself, "Boom! You're welcome, royal four-of-a-kind established."

Frankie took off her black and white striped Mary Janes and crossed her legs on her bed, "Wow! What was it like living in a royal palace, or castle or _whatever_ it is you royals live in?"

Crecha kicked off her high top black and silver Chucks and sat next to Frankie, "Obviously luxurious."

Robecca, the copper robot girl, let her shoulder length jet black hair hang loosely off the bed as she lounged, "From what I could gather, it is very nice. Of course, the only castle I've ever been to was the vampiric castle in Transylvania. I was only there for a little while during a peculiar vampiric court, but it was still quite lovely. So many rooms, walls upon walls of books. Oh, I could just go on and on about it all day."

Frankie tilted her head, "What was so peculiar about the vampiric court? Did the castle only wake at night?"

Robecca knocked on her chest and smiled, "Not exactly. There was a little matter concerning the vampire's heart. It's the heart of the first vampire to ever exist. When her body rotted away her blood was placed in a heart-shaped container and it was used to select future vampiric queens. Elissabat was next in line at the time and she was afraid to take on the duties. She and my father placed the vampire's heart inside me to keep her heritage a secret."

Farrah, the pink fairy, clasped her hands together, "Oh wow, such history. The vampiric court sounds like it has the same intrigues of a fairy gala. Do all the nobility gather during the vampiric court?"

Robecca nodded, "They do indeed, there is dancing, socializing and plenty of ah…wine. I didn't drink it of course, but it was all part of the atmosphere."

Farrah squealed, "Oh that does sound like a fairy gala! Except for the wine, we mostly have nectar." Her eyes widened, "Faybelle do you remember the last gala that was held?"

Faybelle tossed her white ponytail over her shoulder and rolled her eyes, "Duh, like, how could I forget. That was like, the gala where only _the_ most important thing _ever_ happened to me. I was named the next in line to the fairy _throne_ since my older sister had gone missing two days before the ceremony. Which makes me wonder…"

There was a moment of silence as everyone was brought back to the reality of their predicament.

Cleo let out a deep breath and glanced around, "These pirates don't seem to want a ransom. If they do, they are certainly going about it all the wrong ways."

Evie leaned against the post of her bed, "You know, it is weird that they would kidnap nobility and _not_ send home proof of life." She pulled a hand mirror out of her pocket and looked at herself, "Then again it's also weird that they would kidnap nobility to make them _pirates_."

Crecha scrunched her face in irritation, "Not all of us are _nobility_."

Faybelle scoffed, "The one's that matter are! And there are enough nobles here to warrant a royal search. It should only be a matter of _time_ really."

Robecca furrowed her brow, "What do you mean?"

Faybelle pointed to Farrah, "Goodfairy's mom is _the_ Fairy Godmother over all fairy godmothers. With a flick of her wrist she can detect something that has been hidden. Her scrying abilities are top notch! She can like, detect thoughts if she wanted to just give her enough time. I'm sure that wherever we are she will like, detect it and send help."

Billy became visible as he sat down next to Twyla on her bed. He furrowed his brow, "Where exactly are we any ways?"

Lagoona stared down at the floor, "Wish I knew mate. If I could just get close to the ocean I could ask around. Being stuck on land is so _frustrating_."

Abbey huffed, folded her arms and leaned back on her pillow, "This place is mystery. I been on lookout for way to escape. Best I can tell, we on huge island type, but mountain is no mountain. I believe school carved out of rock. I know not why they do this but it all I can offer."

Blondie blinked slowly and sighed loudly, "Well _I_ could have guessed that, but silent boy over there has a point. If we can figure out where in the world we are, we could figure out how to get everyone out of here. "

"Invisi Billy." Billy gave Blondie a pointed look.

Blondie turned and looked at Billy with a raised eyebrow, "What?"

Billy pointed to himself, "You called me silent boy. My name is Invisi Billy."

Blondie shotgun blasted a laugh, "Ha! Your _name_ is Invisi Billy? Do people call you Envy for short?"

Billy raised an eyebrow and shook his head, "Uh no, my friends just tend to call me by my name, Invisi Billy."

Blondie scrunched her eyebrows and held her hands close together in front of her, "Ah okay. Is there anything they call you that's shorter? Saying your whole name over and over again can get to be too much."

Billy shrugged, "You could call me Ellison if it's too _much_ for you."

Blondie slowly lowered her hands a strained smile plastered on her face, "Okay. Why Ellison, of all things?"

Billy rolled his eyes, "Because it's shorter."

Blondie smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand, "No I mean, where did you get Ellison?"

Twyla threw her head back with a huff, "It's his _middle_ name."

Farrah clapped her hands together, stood and curtsied, "Oh my goodness. Now that I think about it we never did properly introduce ourselves. Being thrown into this place has really messed with my manners. Hello Invisi Billy. My name is Farrah Goodfairy, second daughter of house Goodfairy."

Billy blushed as he stood up and bowed, "Uh hey Farrah, um, do I call you by a title or…"

Farrah covered her mouth with her hand and giggled, shaking her head, "Heavens no, we are all friends here."

Faybelle snapped her fingers and pointed at herself. "Ahem, if your giving introductions Goodfairy you forgot about me."

Farrah's eyes widened and she curled her fingers close to her chest, "Oh so sorry, how rude of me. I really am forgetting my manners. Everyone this is Faybelle Thorn, second daughter of house Thorn and next in line to be the Faye Queen."

Faybelle smiled brightly, her bright blue eyes crinkled into smiles as she clapped happily. When she noticed no one was cheering her on, her face fell.

Cleo laughed and looked at her well-manicured nails, "Next in line is nothing to brag about. I, Cleo De-Nile am already queen. So feel free to treat _me_ like the royal that I am."

Faybelle glared at Cleo, but Cleo closed her eyes and turned her head.

Abbey crossed her arms and tapped her fingers against her biceps, "Why all you royals give such flowery introduction. I Abbey, and in my village, we don't waste precious air on frivolity."

Cleo waggled her finger, "Well _we_ aren't in your mountain village, and where I come from, everything rests on _ceremony._ The grander the better." She stood up and held her arms above her head dramatically, "And as I am queen, _all_ I choose to involve myself with must be the _grandest_."

Frankie laughed as Crecha clapped, "I suppose a willing audience doesn't hurt, huh Cleo?"

Cleo put her arms down and looked at her nails, "It doesn't _hurt_ , no." She then flipped her hand outward and shifted her weight to one foot, "But anyways, Abbey you interrupted. I don't know everyone's name and as ruler, I require the names of all my subjects along with your home of record and occupational history."

Billy looked confused, "Uhhh, why do you need…"

"Every good ruler has a census of her people," Cleo rolled her eyes, "I should know. I had many scribes track finances and record taxes paid. Best way to keep track of who needed to pay was a census. Especially with so many farmers! Of course, I also had overseers of the land to keep track of the farmers. Had to make sure they were doing their jobs, but I digress. Tell me who you are so that I may remember."

Billy scrunched his nose as he spoke, "Uhh well you can call me Billy and I'm from Saint-UnLuc, Switzerland and everything else isn't really important because you can't tax me right now."

Cleo waved dismissively, "I already know _who_ you are. When you enrolled in Monster High your father, Ladarius Billy, took up work as the lead of special effects in Hauntlywood and your mother, Helga Billy, took a job in the nearby Dead & Breakfast."

Billy blinked in shock, "How did you-"

Cleo rolled her eyes and leaned forward, "All monsters have to apply through my father's company to gain access to the De Nile gates in the catacombs of our school. With you attending Monster High it was only natural for your parents to need funding to keep you fed and clothed. To get anywhere in the monster world you must work and since your family has a _job_ , they already work for _me_ , no need to tell me."

Faybelle whistled and looked impressed, "Wow, like, whoa! So like, if you wanted you could have his dad fired?"

Cleo looked over her shoulder and chuckled, "I could yes, it is within my abilities."

Faybelle grinned with fiendish delight as she leaned forward, "Wicked!"

Darling folded her arms and glared, "Abusing your abilities is deplorable and you shouldn't encourage it."

Faybelle rolled her eyes, "Whatever after Charming, geez. You are so obnoxious, even Darin Charming knows how to smile and he has to rescue damsels in distress all the time!"

Darling rolled her eyes, "That's all Darin does."

Cleo perked up, "Rescue? Damsels? I thought you were royalty?"

Darling sighed and relaxed her posture, "I'm Darling Charming, from the Charmings of Fairsailles near Fairest, France. Not to be mistaken for those _other_ Charmings in Nice, France or the ones in Parfaitnon, France or the Charmings of Nottingham Forest. We are completely unrelated, although all Charmings are nobility. I'm the only daughter of King Charming and as such I am expected to follow in my mother's foot-steps and be a _damsel_."

She made a face of disgust as she spit out the word damsel. She shook her head, relaxed her face and continued, "My brothers on the other hand, are expected to follow my father's legacy. They get to fight and ride dragons, storm castles and charge into battle. They get to have a legacy of valor, honor and glory. To be a Charming is to be a living legend."

Darling gazed up at the ceiling wistfully as she sighed, "My family proves that we are worthy of the name and we adhere to the tradition of destiny. That is how we are royalty. If we were to be anything less… the other Charmings of our world would overthrow my family. Mostly through paperwork but overthrow us none the same."

Cleo strolled over to Darling and sat right beside her, "So you earn your kingdom through deeds?"

Darling nodded, "Yes, for every generation of stories there is a grand tourney where all Charmings compete. My family has won for the past seven generations and my brother Darin secured our victory at the last one but we must remain vigilant. All Charmings long for the title of fairy tale prince. Especially the Charmings of Parfaitnon, France. Those Charmings married into Cinderella's story so they feel they have a better claim to the Charming name."

Cleo nodded then narrowed her eyes at Darling, "And what do you long for?"

Darling closed her eyes and let out a deep breath, "As a princess I must be the epitome of poise and grace, elegance and refinement. I can hope for nothing more than to find my story book prince."

Cleo leaned back and looked at Darling sideways, "Hmmm, well you're a royal and that's all I need to know." She then turned, looked around the room and pointed, "You, what was your name again?"

Blondie perked up and smiled, "I'm Blondie Locks. Daughter of Goldilocks, Mayor of the Lossmai Way cul de sac in Southside _Brizzle_."

Faybelle snorted from across the room, "You're barely royal Blondie, stop trying to make yourself seem more important than you really are."

Blondie fumed and folded her arms, "My mother is _queen_ of her community."

Faybelle guffawed, "Just stop, nobody cares!"

Cleo raised an eyebrow at Blondie, "Are you or are you not royal?"

Blondie shouted, "ROYAL!"

Darling covered her mouth and chuckled quietly, "More like a fable."

Blondie growled, "I am not a fable, my family adheres to tradition and destiny, despite the fact that my destiny involves me getting chased by _bears,_ unlike you Miss Attempted Rescuer! Newsflash Darling, damsels wait, princes rescue so you can stop rebelling against your storybook fate and throwing pillows like it's something to be proud of."

Darling narrowed her eyes as she pinched her lips together and remained silent.

Faybelle stretched her legs and arms then shook her head, "More like, chased by bears and thrown in the Tall Tale Correctional Facility."

Blondie's face turned beet red as she shook with rage.

Twyla sighed, "Does it even matter? I don't see what the big deal is."

Abbey nodded, "Indeed."

Lagoona pointed to Cleo, "Plus you're kind of being unfair there mate. You may know who we are but Charming and them don't really know us."

Cleo flipped her hair over her shoulder and sighed, "Fine. Go ahead and _discuss_."

Lagoona waved a webbed-hand at everyone, "All right, g'day! I'm Lagoona Blue from the Great Scarier Reef of Australia."

Evie perked up, "Great _Scarier_ Reef? I've never heard of it."

Lagoona giggled, "That's because it's down under, the water that is. I'm sea monster."

Evie's bright brown eyes widened, "Sea monster? Are you okay on land?"

Lagoona nodded, "Of course, me dad was an amphibious type although me ma was mostly fish. I get along just fine though, I can even swim in fresh water. Lucky me."

Farrah looked Lagoona up and down, "I was wondering what those things on your arms and legs were, I take it those are fins?"

Lagoona held up her arm, her fin sharpened as she showed it off, "Yep!"

Frankie smiled as she pointed to herself and Crecha, "I'm Frankie Stein and this is my sister, Crecha. We're from a lab near Mendied, Germany."

Crecha lowered her eyelids and scooted closer to her sister, "We're stitch monsters if you can't tell."

Faybelle sneered at Crecha, "We can tell, the _stitches_ give that away."

Metal clinked as Robecca tapped her chest, "Frankie and Crecha aren't the only monsters _made_ here, I am Robecca Steam. I was made by my father, Professor Hexiciah Steam in a lab at Monster High. Of course, that was over one hundred and eighteen years ago…" She looked sad for a moment before glancing back up at everyone, "But still, I am glad to be made and although my current situation isn't ideal I am glad I at least get to be with friends."

Frankie put her hand over her heart and her bolts sparked, "Awww, thanks Robecca."

Robecca smiled at Frankie, "Oh you are quite welcome Frankie."

Darling turned towards Twyla, "So, what about you?"

Twyla blinked, "Hmm? Oh well… hey. I'm Twyla…Boogey, daughter of the boogeyman."

Faybelle looked down her nose at Twyla, "The boogey man? What kind of monster is that?"

Twyla looked surprised, "What? How have you never heard of my dad? He's only the most famous monster in the monster world."

Cleo cleared her throat, "Ahem. He might be famous but he isn't a _De-Nile_."

Twyla rolled her eyes, "The most _well-known_ of all monsters then."

Faybelle shrugged, "So what's the big deal?"

Frankie glanced between Faybelle and Twyla, "Wow, this is a first. Never met anyone who wasn't immediately afraid of you when you told them that."

Twyla nodded at Frankie shock written all over her face, "I know. I… I don't even know how to process this. This is good, I can live with it."

Darling frowned at Twyla, "Are we supposed to be afraid of you?"

Twyla held her hands up and shook her head, "No! No, you don't have to be afraid that's just the normal reaction I get is all."

Darling nodded slowly and narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "The normal reaction among fellow monsters? Why would someone normally be afraid of you?"

Twyla waved dismissively, "Oh you know, cause of all children's nightmares. Tends to eat dreams, grows stronger through the fear of others and all those kinds of things. Like my reaper cousins, we're awake in the dead of night to take things away. Both reapers and boogey monsters have been around for so long even other monsters fear us."

The corners of Darling's mouth turned up. She covered her mouth with her hand and giggled, "Cause of _all_ nightmares, taking things away. Hahaha. Yes, I can see why that would be terrifying."

Twyla raised an eyebrow, "You find that funny?"

Darling waved dismissively, "I find it to be amusing, simply because you appear to be the least threating person here, besides our dear Farrah of course."

Twyla furrowed her brow, "Is it because I'm short?"

Darling shrugged, delight etched onto her face, "One reason, tell me are all _boogeymen_ short where you're from?"

Twyla tapped her chin thoughtfully, "Well the people near my home in the Congoo tend to be pretty short. Then again, my mom's side of the family in Puerto Shrieko doesn't really grow tall either… yeah, we don't really grow _up_ so much as out."

Faybelle folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at Twyla, "Is the only place you grow _out_ your hips?"

Twyla blushed and looked at the ground, "Ughh, shush you."

Faybelle snickered and leaned forward, "Because I think you and Farrah can officially form the itty-bitty titty committee."

Farrah blushed and covered her chest, "Faybelle…"

Evie pointed to herself, "Ooh, Twyla we should form the _all hips no tits_ committee. Of course, I would be the Chairman."

Cleo gasped and put her hand on her chest, "This is highly inappropriate, did you forget there was a _boy_ here?"

Billy shrugged when everyone turned to him, "I have five younger sisters, I'm used to this."

Abbey snorted, "Still inappropriate."

Evie giggled and flipped her hair, "That's because you're all bust Abbey. Does mountain air inflate your balloons?"

Abbey tried to cover her chest with her arms but only succeeded in pushing them up, "Ural Mountain air is thin, inflates nothing."

Evie shrugged and looked at herself in the mirror once more, "Whatever after. Ooh, my complexion looks so good but this place is just terrible for my hair."

Cleo crossed her legs and flipped her hair, "I know, the humidity here is terrible, my bandages never seem to dry."

Evie closed her mirror and looked at Cleo, "I don't really see any frizz on you though, what's your secret to glossy hair?"

Billy groaned, turned and whispered to Twyla, "Since it's a rest day for the school do you want to go scope the place out?"

Twyla smiled, scooted into shadow and whispered back, "Absolutely."

Billy went invisible and they both headed towards the dorm door.

Blondie had chosen that moment to stand to go to the latrine when she bumped into Billy. Narrowing her eyes at the space in front of her she folded her arms and tapped her foot, "You know, it's weird that we never see you. What exactly are you doing while invisible?"

Billy became visible, "Uh the exact same thing I do when visible."

Blondie rolled her neck at him, "Right. So where are you headed?"

Billy held his hands up defensively and took a step backwards.

Twyla scoffed and popped out of Blondie's shadow, standing directly behind her, "We were just going to look around the school. We have a perfect opportunity right now, ah…sorry what was your name again?"

Blondie jumped then turned and growled as she crossed her arms, "What the- my name is Blondie!"

Billy nodded, "Right, Blondie."

Twyla closed her eyes, pinched the bridge of her nose then took a deep breath.

Billy held his hands out in an open gesture, "Look Blondie, I don't want to waste an opportunity to find out more about this school and a rest day seems like a perfect day to get some uninhibited exploring done. If you like, you can hold my hand and come with us."

Blondie glared up at Billy, gripping her arms tighter, "Why would I want to hold your hand?"

Billy looked at Twyla and smirked. She reached out and grabbed his hand as Billy went invisible which made her invisible as well.

Blondie uncrossed her arms and groped about the air until she became invisible. "Well, that certainly is a good reason to touch you. All right, I'm in. Let's go."


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which are trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Nine:

The Teaching Tempest

Twyla let go of Billy's hand as she slid into shadow. The familiar negative space silenced the buzz of the overhead lights. She followed the zebra patterned path of shadows as she trailed behind an invisible Billy. She never understood how he created a shadow when he was see-thru but it helped her keep up with him.

They crept out of the dorm while their classmates continued the previous conversation. Royals. As far as Twyla was concerned, they were too much trouble, sure technically she was a noble but she wasn't a pampered princess or a pushy queen. Which made her wonder. _Why would pirates kidnap normie royalty and not demand a ransom? There was nothing about it in the news which is why everyone at school think that it's a terrible prank only affecting monsters. Maybe theses pirates are trying to cripple the aristocracy of each land in a weird world domination plan. I've certainly never heard of the places those girls mentioned. Where in the world is Fairsailles and are fairies the friendly cousins of wakwaks?_

Twyla was drawn out of her musings when Billy stopped at the top of the stairs.

He whispered, "We need to be quiet going down the stairs, senior class is on the second floor."

Blondie muttered, "Got it, now get moving its weird seeing through myself."

Twyla made her way down the first few steps, "Come on, let's go."

The walk down the stairs was agonizingly slow and every sound that echoed up the stairs made them jump and hold their breath. Once they arrived on the landing of the main floor, Twyla stepped into a shadow near the laundry room to be sure no one would come up behind them. Inside she spotted a few members of other classes chatting casually while awaiting their drying clothes.

Twyla shadow-walked back to Billy's last known location and mumbled, "A few people in there but the dryers are loud so they may not hear us."

Blondie whispered back, "They might not but there's an echo in this hall way so someone on the other side could hear us. Let's keep moving, I want to get a good look at the main door that leads to the docks."

Twyla, Billy and Blondie snuck past the chow hall door. Twyla's heartbeat drummed loudly in her ears as she passed. She half expected Freddie to burst through the door and start wailing on her at any minute.

Blondie bumped a table in the hall and muttered a soft, "Ow."

Billy loudly shushed her. Blondie pinched his arm and whispered back, "You shushing me is louder than me saying ow."

Twyla shushed them both, "Footsteps in the hallway."

Blondie ducked underneath the table, pulling Billy with her. The moment Billy touched the table it too became invisible. Twyla panicked at the tables disappearance and pushed the table away from Billy, making it reappear just as LT Ching rounded the corner. Ching paused in the hallway and narrowed her eyes at the table as she prowled closer. Ching glared at its alignment, raised an eyebrow and pushed it back in place. Billy scooted away from the table and closer into Blondie as Ching did this. Twyla held her breath. Ching looked the table all around, turned on her heel and walked towards the main door leading to the docks.

Ching removed a leather rope necklace from her the folds of her blouse and held a segmented circle close to the door. The circle began to float then it glowed while spinning in midair. The main door shimmered and clicked loudly. Ching pulled the large double doors open and the key remained hovering in the air as she walked out.

Twyla jumped into the shadow of the door and paused to stare at the key. Lines of teal blue octagons twisted along the rim of the copper metal. It looked like an old coin but there were numbers all around similar to a clock and the rope was where the hands would have been. She made note of it as she turned to walk around the door to the outside.

The door slammed shut as LT Ching returned from the all too brief errand. The key fell and Ching caught it with one hand. Twyla stared up at Ching who glared down intently at the shadow she occupied. Ching, it appeared, was aware of Twyla's presence.

Ching put her hands behind her back, "How long do you intend on trying to hide there, Private Boogey?"

Twyla stepped out of shadow and stood at attention in front of Ching.

Ching leaned back and pointed at the table, "You and your friends return to the dorms on the double. Go on now, today is the only day of the week you will get to rest. Relish it. I assure you the rest of your days here will not be as _relaxed_."

Twyla nodded and turned to go back upstairs. Just as she passed the table Ching called out, "Privates Billy and Locks, return with your cohort. Being unseen does not mean unheard, you would be wise to remember that. Go now."

Twyla heard Billy sigh as he and Blondie shuffled away from the table and became visible. Downtrodden at being caught so fast, they returned to the dorm.

Darling and Farrah were the first to greet them but when Darling's eyes scanned Billy's face her smile wavered. Everyone sat down in the bed area once more and listened to Blondie's explanation of what happened.

After a while of stunned silence, Abbey scrunched her face, "What all this sad faced looks for, is study day, I say we study. Surely there is history of school or something we can find. Perhaps answer lurk in book?"

Cleo glanced at Abbey with her head in her hands, "I suppose that's better than executing _half-baked_ plans."

Twyla raised an eyebrow at Cleo, "Are you referring to our plan? How were we supposed to learn anything if we didn't take the risk?"

Cleo threw her arms out in a wild gesture, "Running around the school and challenging the teachers has thus far not worked in our favor. If anything, it has only brought us harm. Poor Ghoulia is still in the infirmary because of that _ghastly_ Freddie and _I_ don't want that to happen to anyone else. So yes, your plan was half-baked and in hindsight I should have stopped you from going before I had organized a _proper_ plan. But I digress, let's look through these school books."

Twyla rolled her eyes but didn't say anymore. Everyone pulled out their school books and began scanning the material. The rest of the day was spent in silent study and contemplation.

Wednesday morning started simple enough, LT Delahaye flipped them out of their beds and started beating them with said beds to get them to run faster, nothing Twyla and crew couldn't handle. However, when they got to the Outdoor Drill Pad for PTV they noticed right away that something was amiss. The schedule showed that it was supposed to be boarding drills. An exercise in swinging from ropes at various distances to board a large moving vessel.

However, a village run was present. Village runs, in Twyla's opinion, were nightmare fueled adrenaline rushes that pitted the students against each other on the docks of a fake town. They had to navigate the maze of shops and traps to get the other side. To this day, Twyla had yet to make it to the other side. She also never made it to the middle of the course because it was a steep uphill incline. LT O'Malley always changed the layout during the run to suit her whims and today it looked like O'Malley was in a volatile mood. Debris flew into the air as traps triggered of their own volition. Twyla grimaced, she hadn't even entered the course and it was already going off! She lined up with her class behind the freshman marker anxiously awaiting O'Malley's instruction.

O'Malley stood on top of the nearest building overlooking all the students, the murderous glint in her eyes spoke volumes of how the class was going to go, "I want to know, right here, right now, who did it?"

O'Malley's question was met with confused looks and silence. She shook with rage, "Oh I am on to you! When I find the thief, I will boil your head in your entrails!"

Twyla was shocked, she turned to whisper to Robecca, "Who would steal from a lieutenant? What would they steal? I mean, what would they hope to gain by stealing from _O'Malley_?"

Robecca shook her head and shrugged. Twyla glanced in Freddie's direction. Freddie looked just as confused as everyone else, but Twyla wouldn't count Freddie as innocent just yet.

O'Malley tossed a grenade at a nearby building and it exploded into several pieces of burning wood, "Start running the frigging course, muck sticks! You're on my turf now! GOOOOOO!"

Everyone sprinted and O'Malley lobbed multiple grenades at all the buildings, which sent burning wood chunks flying everywhere. Twyla had never been so scared in her life, she saw Spectra floating by and briefly made eye contact. Spectra seeing their panicked faces glanced around and motioned for everyone to follow her. Twyla turned a burning corner just as charred debris flew near her.

Lagoona dove into her and they rolled to a halt, "That was a close one, you alright?"

Twyla smiled and looked up at Lagoona, "Thanks to you. But we might want to get you some moisturizer, you seem to be flaking."

Robecca expertly dodged debris as she skated on the steam from her boots. She punched through the wall beside Spectra and zoomed ahead, "This is just like _SKRM_ ghouls, we shouldn't dally in one place."

A grenade tinked off a roof and burst. Wood splintered aflame in all directions. Abbey froze the wood in an arch, "Not time for chatter, it best if you close the mouth."

Twyla looked at the ice then back at Abbey as another explosion sounded behind them, "Solid advice. Let's go, Spectra."

Spectra nodded and they followed her as fast as they could away from O'Malley's bombs. Once they were at the drop off point of the course they jumped in the water and waded to the shores of the forest. There Melody sat on a rock hugging her knees.

Spectra floated over to her, "Melody, I brought some friends. I promised you I wouldn't leave you alone and I meant it."

Melody's honey brown eyes slid up as she took in the sight of them then lowered as she sighed, her monotone voice betraying a small hint of sadness, "Hey. You guys are just in time for the terrible joke that is my life."

Spectra stopped floating and sat down next to Melody, as she placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're going to make it through this, I promise. Look, Fred- ahhh… we can just relax, breathe a bit and watch some...alternate fireworks, ehehe."

Melody glanced up just as a building flew into the sky and screams filled the air, "Fireworks...right." She sighed as she sat back on her hands. "I just wish I knew what O'Malley was talking about. I haven't seen her use _explosive personality_ in a while."

Evie frowned, "Umm, don't you mean she _has_ an explosive personality?"

Melody shook her head, "No I meant what I said. O'Malley, in case you couldn't tell is an explosives expert, hence why she teaches the class. Delahaye's her best friend from what I can tell and she coined the term. When O'Malley threw multiple rounds of explosives in under seven seconds she called it her _explosive personality_."

Faybelle perked up, "Oh, so you say could it's her _magic touch_? Like, how your magic touch is _hypnotic beats_?"

Melody shrugged, "I guess, to be honest with you, I stopped caring a long time ago about the goings on of this school, I just want to graduate and be done with it."

Twyla tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at Melody, "Do you know if Freddie stole something?"

Spectra grimaced and looked at Twyla with a _you shouldn't have said that_ look.

Melody stiffened and all color drained from her face as she spoke with a far-off tone, "No idea. My mistress's business is not my business."

Spectra began to panic and started to float around Melody in circles, "Melody, oh Melody. Please come back, don't go back in there. Come on, only friends here. _Melody_."

Twyla felt bad. She couldn't imagine living with Freddie, much less dealing with Freddie for three whole years. She was glad Freddie was graduating at the end of the year but she felt sorry for Melody. If just mentioning Freddie's name put her in this state what would Freddie's presence do? Twyla didn't have long to contemplate as another series of explosions went off.

O'Malley flew into the air as she rode a burning building like a surf board, "What have you barnacles done with Mr. McSnuggums!" She chucked more grenades into the buildings below and shrill screams responded in kind.

Cleo looked at Spectra, "What, _exactly_ is a Mr. McSnuggums, because if she is throwing a fit over what I think she is throwing a fit over, I will be highly upset."

Spectra shrugged while holding her hand to Melody's impassive face, "Your guess is as good as mine. Although it does sound suspiciously like her teddy bear went missing."

Cleo growled low in her throat and looked at Ghoulia, who had recently been released from the infirmary. "Ghoulia remind me to find and curse Mr. McSnuggums. I've put up with a lot of foolishness at this school and I won't take it anymore."

Ghoulia tilted her head and groaned with gumption. Cleo threw her head back and stood tall, "You are right Ghoulia, cursing a teddy will get us nowhere, what we need to do is escape this place." She pointed without looking as she ordered, "Spectra close your ghostly ears, I can't have you gossiping about my brilliant plan."

Spectra raised an eyebrow and shook her head, "I haven't written ghostly gossip in years, though I so wish I could have done newspaper club here. Sadly, it got shut down after Class 213. Besides Cleo, you should know by now that escape is impossible."

Cleo crossed her arms over her chest, "I won't hear any negativity. I am Cleo De-Nile and I promise all of you, that I will stop at nothing to ensure that we all can escape this island and go back to the lives that we deserve."

Twyla looked doubtful, "And how do you plan on keeping that promise, exactly?"

Cleo looked down at Twyla, "Well, I haven't worked out any of the details but I will ensure it. Guaranteed, that is a promise that I am making. Ghoulia, make sure to look up ways to escape this place. It is all about attention to detail and I know you are the best at that."

Ghoulia groaned appreciatively. Cleo flipped her hair over her shoulder and smiled, "Well you are very welcome."

The bell rang and O'Malley stopped throwing grenades. She looked over in the direction of the main building and screamed, "I knew it! The bell took Mr. McSnuggums hostage! DAMN you! Ahhhhh!" She jumped off the platform and burst through a third-story window leading into the school.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which are trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Ten:

Bad and Bonkers

Everyone gave each other a blank stare before they ran up to the dorms to get showered and changed. No one wanted to bump into O'Malley anytime soon. They made their way to the chow hall and gathered their food for the morning meal.

As soon as most sat down to eat a raging O'Malley kicked open the door, "ENSIGN COOKIE!"

Vidalia Cookie, the lunch lady with the smooth dark features, glared at O'Malley with a sneer as she growled out, "What?!"

O'Malley kicked the nearest table and launched it towards Ensign Cookie. "Where is Mr. McSnuggums?"

Cookie ducked, stood up, then flung a towel over her shoulder, "Girl, ain't nobody got time for your nonsense. Have you checked under your bed for that thing?"

O'Malley grabbed a table and threw it, "So you've been talking to my bed to steal Mr. McSnuggums! Well you won't get one shiny copper out of me."

Cookie ducked again, then stood and motioned for the other lunch ladies to intervene, "Get this crazy girl out my chow hall, talking about conspiring with her damn bed. I can't work in these conditions; Captain Jones better give me a raise. An extra sip of serum or _something_ for putting up with this..." She stormed off towards the kitchens muttering to herself.

The other lunch ladies tried and failed miserably to escort O'Malley out of the chow hall. When O'Malley reached for a grenade, Twyla and crew knew that they were done eating. They dumped their trays and made their way to _Arr-gebra I_ , with LT Read.

Read was a thick woman with an even thicker accent. She greeted everyone in her flat and boggy tone, "Oh hello, you kids got the rough of it this morning, didn't ya?"

Twyla raised her brows and nodded slightly as she took her seat. Read's earrings and bracelets and rings clanged as she walked around her desk to write on the board. She couldn't bend her fingers for all the rings she had on each one to include three on each thumb. So her handwriting was left up to interpretation. Luckily Read's numbers were the only thing legible which was mostly what they needed for math class any ways. She tried to brush her curly black locks out of her face but her hair got caught up in one of her many gold neck chains. She fussed and cursed before finally reaching into her jacket pocket to retrieve one of her many daggers. She sliced the offending hair and continued to write on the blackboard.

Twyla had hoped that class would go as normal, with Read explaining something, asking them if they had questions then immediately not understanding why any of them would have questions. But it was not to be so, as class went on, Twyla could hear muffled yelling echo down the hall. She knew it was only a matter of time before O'Malley came bursting through the door and she braced herself for it.

The glass scattered as O'Malley crashed through the window in a tumbled heap. She lay on the floor and stared at the ceiling as she screamed, "Damn you wall! You can't keep me from your secrets!"

Read slammed her hands down onto her desk, "Dammit O'Malley, what is wrong with you today? Your fuse has been significantly shorter than usual."

O'Malley looked over at Read and narrowed her eyes, "You, you did it, didn't you? You kidnapped Mr. McSnuggums! Where is he hiding! What have you don't with him?"

Read rolled her eyes, "O'Malley, seriously? Have you checked the refrigerator or something? You may have put him there when you got a midnight snack."

O'Malley sat up and pointed at Read, "Aha! See I knew you took him, because you know he won't fit in the refrigerator. See I caught you in your lie."

Read threw a dagger into O'Malley's chest. O'Malley looked down and touched her chest. When her hand came away red she screamed as she jumped up and threw a grenade at Read. Read rolled, threw three daggers into O'Malley's chest and a dagger through the grenade fuse causing it to land with a thud on the ground.

O'Malley looked at the knives in her chest and screamed, "That frigging hurts!"

Read stood off to the side and threw several more daggers into O'Malley.

O'Malley stood still and frowned as blood pooled onto the floor. She spoke through clenched teeth, "I will frigging end you! Let me go, right now!"

Read sighed, "O'Malley, calm down. You can still move your arms. Go ahead. You can do it. See? No daggers are holding you down."

O'Malley slowly lifted her arms, seeing that she could move her arms freely, she cheered up and then paled, "Oh! Oh, that is wonderful, that is nice, wait. I don't feel so good."

Read opened the door, "Go visit Montoya in the infirmary, go on, she'll patch up those holes in your chest for you."

O'Malley walked through the door, "Yeah, there are a lot of holes for some reason."

Read threw the door shut, "Ugh, that O'Malley, 300 years and nothing's changed. Now, where was I?"

Ghoulia groaned informatively. Read titled her head, "What? I don't speak zombie."

Cleo raised her hand, "LT Read, you were going over independent and dependent variables."

Read nodded, "Right well, back to that then."

Once the bell rang Twyla and crew began to make their way to LT Walker's class _English Syntax I_ when they ran into yet another odd sight. There, in the middle of the hallway, was a very stressed out Duchess in black swan form flapping her wings and honking loudly while a snoring heap of a woman lay upon her. Blondie curiously walked up to the woman and tried to shake her awake, but Blondie was rewarded with a punch to the stomach. As Blondie backed away holding her abdomen the figure stood up while wiping drool on Duchess.

With one final flap, Duchess got away and turned into her human form completely drool covered. She glared at the figure, "LT Bonny, I am not a pillow! Augh, why is it always me?"

Duchess then stomped off towards the latrine. Twyla held her nose as LT Bonny scratched herself in various places. She reeked booze and her navy jacket was smudged with whatever she had eaten for the day. She belched and a few stray black feathers flew out of her mouth and drifted to land in her wild curly mane of red. She blinked lazily as she reached up to remove the feather but missed her hair completely.

Blondie, still holding her stomach, whispered to Twyla, "Is this Bonny even a teacher?"

Twyla shook her head, "I'm not sure. I've never seen her before."

Bonny wiped the drool off her face. She rubbed her dark-freckled cheeks and groaned as a thin layer of crust fell from her eyes. She glanced at everyone and her dark brown eyes paused when she saw Billy, who was visible at that time. She leaned back and pointed a crooked finger at Billy as she yelled, "How dare you show your face to me after all this time Abner Darby."

Billy startled went invisible, which just irritated Bonny more.

Bonny licked her plump lips like there was still juice on them and smirked, "Oh, Abner, I'm not letting you get away from me this time."

She lurched forward and chased Twyla and crew into their next classroom. LT Walker strode over to the door to see what all the fuss was about. When she spotted Bonny, she held out her hand. Bonny's upper torso fell backwards although her legs kept moving forward which dragged her upper half along the ground.

Walker glared down at Bonny, "Nicki Anne, what are you doing? This is a school. Why don't you put those last two brain cells together and come up with your _one_ lesson plan for the fall semester."

Bonny halfway stood up, but let her head rest on the back of her calf as she gazed up at Walker, "Well, I was taking an afternoon nap when old Abner decided to beg me for forgiveness."

Walker tapped her foot, "It's nine thirty in the morning, Nicki Anne."

Bonny waved her hand dismissively, "Potato, tomato. Listen, if you see Abner tell him, I hope he dies from dysentery this time."

Walker rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips, "I won't tolerate your shenanigans in my classroom. This is a place of learning, leave."

Bonny stood up normally, turned and stared vacantly up at Walker, "No need to use all those highfalutin words with me."

Walker pointed to the open door. Bonny snorted, walked into the door, stumbled backwards then walked out the open doorway. Walker shook her head and closed the door. With Walker beside the door, Twyla could see why all the doors throughout the school were at a minimum ten feet tall. Walker was a very muscular eight-foot-six towering woman.

Walker glanced around at everyone, "Did everyone complete last night's homework? Place it on the desk so I can see. No cheating. You are just cheating yourselves out of an education." She strolled between the desk checking everyone's homework. Seeing that it was all done, she continued the lesson.

When the bell for lunch rang, Twyla and crew walked as fast as they could to chow hall. Upon sitting down, they heard the sounds of honking coming from the line. There was only one person who honked in the entire school, and that person was Duchess.

Once Duchess came into view, Twyla could see that Freddie was holding Duchess in her swan form, while Spectra balanced three trays of food.

Freddie cackled as she pulled more feathers, "Oh bird brain, how could you forget to take a battle buddy with you again." She yanked more feathers as Duchess honked in pain, "I might just have to slit this long goose neck of yours and have roasted duck. If I get approached by another LT because my classmates can't get themselves together, being tossed in an oven will be the least of your troubles. Understood, mother goose?"

Freddie tossed Duchess into the air and Duchess changed back into her human form. Duchess looked angry and her skin was red in random places but she looked okay, considering how many feathers she had just lost. Twyla didn't stare for long; she placed her eyes on her food and wolfed it down as quickly as possible. If Freddie was in a torturous mood, Twyla didn't want to get on her bad side. A shriek from Spectra however did cause her to look up, what could Freddie do to a ghost?

Freddie laughed as the shadow spirits ripped off Spectra's clothes. Spectra covered herself and tried to sink into the floor but the spirits pulled her back into view. Freddie smirked and pointed her fork "Don't think I didn't notice your absence this morning at PTV. To where did you float, hmmm? I told you, as soon as we got in the maze that you were to float through the traps and get me to safety. My poor shadow spirits had to do all the work that you failed to do. That's just not right, you will pull your weight around here or you might find yourself spending more quality time in the shadow box."

Spectra sobbed as she trembled and nodded, "Understood."

Freddie turned to look at Melody, "And you."

Melody flinched and looked up at Freddie, her eyes were dead and her expression completely vacant as Freddie grabbed her by the front of her blouse and pulled her close.

Freddie snarled, "I was told that you didn't run the course at all. My spirits say, you stayed behind, is that true?"

Melody blinked once very slowly and took as deep a breath as she could, "Yes."

Freddie grabbed a handful of Melody's hair and yanked her close, "You really don't seem to understand the concept of a team. I thought I had thoroughly beaten it into you but apparently, you still have a few rebel chords left in you. Tell me, whatever am I going to do with you?"

Melody gulped and closed her eyes, a single tear rolled down her cheek, "Whatever pleases you."

Freddie laughed and threw Melody back, "Hahaha! Damn right, I will. But what would please me the most. Hmm." She drummed her fingers on her chin.

Twyla looked down and finished eating. She couldn't bear to watch Freddie torture people. No one else could either, but no one wanted to get up because they were too afraid to catch Freddie's eye. Darling made to stand up but a sophomore grabbed her arm and shook her head in warning. Twyla sipped her drink slowly. What was Freddie going to do to Melody? And Poor Spectra! Twyla had never considered that Freddie's shadow spirit could touch Spectra. But it did make sense, Spectra had always been strong willed ghost, it would take someone truly evil to make Spectra do the things she had done and that someone was Freddie.

A resounding crack as something slammed against the table made Twyla look up. Melody clawed at her throat as blood trickled down the fork that was jammed there. Students shuffled away from the table and clung to each other as Melody's eyes began rolling into the back of her head. Duchess screamed and ran to help Melody but was slapped back by Freddie, causing her to turn into a swan and fly backwards.

Freddie sneered, "Did I tell you to help her? Do what I tell you and you might just live. Now Melody, what have you to say for yourself, hmmm? Oh wait, there's a fork in your throat so I guess you don't have anything to say." She yanked the fork out of Melody's throat and collected the blood in a small vial as she ordered. "Duchess, take our dying DJ to the infirmary. I got part of what I wanted, no need to lose the rest of what I have in the process."

She stabbed a nearby shadow spirit with the fork and left the chow hall with a bounce in her step. The moment the door closed everyone in the chow hall ran over to check on Melody.

Farrah screamed, "Excuse me, coming through. I can heal her, coming through."

A space was made for her, Duchess held Melody's wound down so it wouldn't spurt blood and Spectra held napkins to cover herself as she watched from a distance. Farrah pulled her wand out of her pocket and a warm pastel orange light enveloped Melody. Lines of orange circles spun around the wound and stitched it closed. Those present stood with bated breath as they observed.

Melody coughed and when she opened her eyes, she wept bitterly, "You should have just let me die. It would have been so much better if my life had just ended. I don't think I can endure another day with her. Not one more day. Please kill me."

Spectra bawled and used the napkins she held as tissues.

Duchess sighed deeply, "Melody, come on. Let's get you to the infirmary."

Melody sat up and rolled her shoulder back as she stretched her neck moving it side to side. "That's okay, let's just go to class." She stood up and looked at Spectra. Her eyes widened and she covered herself with her hands, "Uh, Spectra you might want to ah..."

Spectra blushed and sank into the floor. Twyla let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as Melody and Duchess left the chow hall. The chow hall erupted with chatter as everyone discussed the cruelty of Freddie.

Darling whipped around and glared at the sophomore that stopped her, "Are you satisfied Lizzie! Melody nearly lost her life-"

"It would have been off with _your_ head if you had interfered!" Lizzie shouted.

"So your solution was to standby and watch!" Darling retorted.

Abbey folded her arms, "Hmph, foolish advice from cowards. Next time I do things my way."

Lagoona frowned, "I didn't want to make waves mate, I'm sorry, I didn't think she would do anything like _that_."

Evie stomped her foot and clapped her hands loudly, "Uh, hello we should all probably go to class. I don't know about you but I don't want to be in the halls when Freddie's shadow puppets are the hall monitors."

No one spoke or made eye contact as they left the chow hall. Twyla fixed her gaze on the black tile floor as she trekked. _Freddie nearly killed her. She stabbed her, with a fork. Why? Why did she collect her blood? Why does she have so much power? Can she be stopped? There has to be some kind of weakness in her shadow defense. Think Twyla, think. What do shadows fear the most?_

She felt her face warm and stepped away from the sunlight beaming through the windows. Her eyes widened as a solution to the Freddie problem presented itself. She mumbled, "The dark has to flee from the light." _Now how do we harness it?_


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which are trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Eleven:

Closed Wounds and Raw Deals

Twyla and crew pushed open the expansive cherry oak doors of the infirmary. When they entered, LT Montoya stood behind a table that was covered in potions and although the table was chest high for Twyla it was thigh height for Montoya. Montoya was a curvaceous eight foot one and while shorter than Walker her height was still quite impressive to a four foot eleven Twyla.

Montoya's warm brown eyes lit up when she spotted them and she gestured for everyone to take a seat around the table to begin taking notes. Beams of light streamed through the ceiling high windows and bathed Montoya's butterscotch brown skin in a warm glow. Honeysuckle and jasmine drifted into Twyla's nose as the sun heated the flower bouquet adorning Montoya's silky black hair.

Twyla placed her satchel next to one of the barstools around the table. The legs screeched as she pulled it out to sit down. Green out the corner of her eye caused her to turn her head. The green belonged to the eleven-foot alligator that O'Malley snuggled while sleeping on an infirmary bed. She looked cozy enough but the alligator looked like it had died some time ago and Twyla could not think of any reason to keep a dead alligator.

Montoya's honeyed voice brought her back to reality, "And where is _your_ homework Private Boogey?"

Twyla cringe-smiled and reached into her bag to retrieve it.

Delahaye burst into the infirmary screaming, "Josefina! Emergency. You would not believe what my pet just did."

Montoya sighed and looked over at Delahaye, who clutched a very broken arm. "Let me guess, he fought back?"

Delahaye held out her arm and winced, "The nerve of that thing, I know. I thought I had him well trained but I guess he was just biding his time. So disappointing, and would you believe that when I put him in my soul bag he didn't heal the damage he had caused. So worthless even in death I swear. I'm going to write a stern letter to that Hurtado. He promised me a quality pet but look at my arm. Totally worthless."

Montoya put her hand over Delahaye's arm and a warm pastel orange light glowed dimly over the area. "Oh no, the captain of a shady pirate's ship cut you a bad deal, who could have ever seen that coming."

Delahaye scoffed, "Oh haha, laugh all you want, but the same ship captain that gets me my pets is getting your bedpan supplies. Which by the way, why did you put down such a large order of bed pans for the next shipment?"

Montoya jerked her head towards O'Malley, "Because this one decided to put half the school in my infirmary at one time. I swear, I thought I was doing her a favor by washing the thing. There all better now."

Delahaye moved her arm around, "Oh, so we have you to thank for that disaster this morning?"

Montoya folded her arms under her chest and looked down at Delahaye, "Or you could blame Ms. Fussy-breeches over there, she brought the thing to me and told me to sew up its paw, and so I did. I also washed it. Apparently, she forgot she had given him to me because I took too long."

Delahaye rolled her eyes, "That girl. Well, thanks for the healing, hopefully that is the last incident of that kind that occurs. _Au Revoir_."

Delahaye left and Montoya continued the lesson as though she had not been interrupted. Twyla tried to process the events of that day even as the bell rang. They shuffled their way to their last class of the day with LT Ching which went by without incident. The chow hall was silent that evening, many trying to steer clear of Freddie lest they give her a reason to hurt them.

When Twyla and crew finished their meal, they traversed the long winding staircase to the fifth floor where the freshman dorm resided. Twyla's shoulders ached from the weight of so many books and she tossed her satchel the moment they entered the bed bay.

Cleo flopped down onto her bed and threw her arm over her face, "Ghoulia, what was the homework for tonight?"

Ghoulia sat on the bed next to Cleo, pulled out her notebook and groaned languidly.

Cleo peeked out from under her arm, "Uh huh, uh huh. An essay on social and emotional health? The irony."

Ghoulia shook her head and groaned informatively. Cleo sat up, "Irony, a paradox, same thing."

Ghoulia groaned with irritation. Cleo rolled her eyes and threw her head back, "It doesn't really matter Ghoulia, point is we are miserable here and we have to write a report about how misery relates to physical health."

Evie chuckled as she tossed her satchel onto her bed, "Sounds like a _cruel_ irony to me."

Ghoulia shrugged and groaned. Evie pursed her lips, "Still don't understand zombie."

Frankie set her bag down on the floor, "It gets easier to learn with time."

Faybelle fluttered into the room, "All groaning sounds the same."

Crecha scowled, "Wow, rude."

Faybelle tossed her bag and rolled her eyes, "Whatever after. Like, let's just get this homework done and go to bed."

Ghoulia groaned sarcastically. Farrah looked at Ghoulia and smiled, "Does that mean… let's study?"

Ghoulia closed her eyes and shook her head.

Farrah looked at the floor downtrodden, "Oh."

Robecca put a hand on Farrah's shoulder, "It's alright, at least you tried."

Darling nodded at Farrah then narrowed her eyes at Faybelle, "That's right. Which is more than we can say for some."

Faybelle snorted then sat down, "Whatever after-" She glanced around confused when she didn't sit on the bed, "What the-"

Billy became visible underneath Faybelle with raised eyebrows, "Hey, do you mind..."

Faybelle blushed and slid off his lap, "That explains soooo much." Then she glared, "Do you mind like, being visible from now on?"

Billy let out a breath and rolled his eyes, "Ah yeah, being visible is a lot of work. I'm invisible dominant."

Faybelle raised an eyebrow, "What the hex does that mean?"

Billy closed his eyes and let out another deep breath before he calmly responded, "I was born _invisible_. Visibility is something that I have to focus on, I'm literally changing the shape of each individual scale on my body to catch the light so you can see me right now and its mentally exhausting."

Faybelle's eyes widened as she looked Billy up and down, "Changing the shape of your own _scales_? How is that physically possible?"

Billy shrugged, "Mad Science."

Faybelle's mouth hung open as she leaned close to him. Her bright blue eyes took in every inch of him as though she was trying to see his individual skin cells, "You have scales? Like a _dragon_?"

Billy shifted uncomfortably under her gaze and eventually became invisible.

Faybelle shook out of her stupor as she looked at the indentation next to her. She whispered to herself, "Scales…"

Lagoona sat down on a bed next to Abbey, "Did you take notes for the assignment?"

Abbey nodded and pulled out her notebook, "Of course, most efficient way to pass class is notes."

Blondie walked by Abbey and snatched the notebook, "Thanks. I really could use the help."

Abbey huffed as Blondie sat down, "Was giving notes to Lagoona. You no ask."

Blondie shrugged, "Either way you were sharing."

Robecca shook her head, "That was rather rude."

Blondie began copying the notes, "Better to ask forgiveness than permission."

Robecca furrowed her brow, "You didn't ask for either."

Twyla glanced between them, "I don't think Blondie cares, she seems to be like that."

Blondie glanced up at Twyla, "Uh excuse me. Like what?"

Twyla pointed at Blondie with her pencil, "Selfish."

Blondie rolled her eyes, "Sabbit harsh. You still baity about my height?"

Twyla scowled, "When you stand in front of me and hog all the hot water."

Blondie tossed Abbey's notebook at Lagoona as she stood up and crossed the room. She looked down at Twyla with her hands on her hips, "Is that right? I'm tall, beautiful and curvy, innit I. I'm sorry you're _so_ short, you can't get to a shower head in enough time to not have to share. And I'm sorry you _failed_ to speak up about it while we were in the shower but feel the need to bring up old news when there's nothing I can do about it."

Twyla dropped her pencil and glared in disgust, "That's not even an apology, that's just you being rude."

Blondie rolled her neck and pointed her hand, "No need to throw a benny. Can't say I didn't try to apologize."

Twyla closed her eyes, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She shook her head and picked up her pencil, "You know what, you're not even worth it."

Blondie cocked her hip and opened her mouth wide to respond when a knock at the door caught her attention. She turned and yelled out, "Who is it!"

Spectra floated through the door and glided into the bed bay where everyone was sitting, "Oh that's not how you're supposed to answer the door at all."

Twyla glad for the distraction put her books down and walked over, "Hey Spectra, always good to see you. What brings you up here?"

Spectra smiled, "Oh you know the usual ghost business. Warning you about what is to come."

Cleo sat up straight and crossed her legs as she waved for Spectra to draw nearer, "Ahem. Well deliver your message Spectra, whatever it is, I need to be ten steps ahead of it."

Spectra floated over to Cleo and bowed her head, "I bring you the latest rumor floating around the school. O'Malley still doesn't trust the students after her favorite stuffed animal went missing. Apparently, she stormed into Captain Jones's office demanding a top to bottom search of the school! My younger sister Glimmer overheard LT Walker mention to LT Read that LT Ching told LT Delahaye that she should conduct a night raid on the freshman. When I heard that I just knew I had to come tell you."

Cleo placed one hand over her knee, pointed at Spectra with her other hand and nodded, "Thank you Spectra. I appreciate the warning. Tell me, what occurs on a night raid?"

Spectra's eyes widened and she gasped, "What? I told you guys about night raids on your second day here! Have you _not_ had entry controllers watching the door at night?"

Twyla furrowed her brow as she got lost in thought. _Why would we need to watch the door? Do the teachers expect us to get kidnapped again? Who else would take us? Why would they take us? This doesn't make any sense. Is there a rival pirate school out there somewhere that kidnaps already kidnapped students or is there something else on this island that even the teachers fear?_


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which are trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Twelve:

Small Security

Ghoulia flipped through her notebook and groaned in shock. Cleo looked over Ghoulia's shoulder and looked mildly impressed, "Hmm, it _was_ on the agenda. I suppose we never got around to it."

Spectra gaped in shock, "You never got around to it?"

Cleo tilted her head and looked at Spectra sideways, "It was on the agenda. You can't possibly expect me to remember every minute detail in regard to this school."

Faybelle leaned forward with her head in her hands, "And yet you brag like you _can_."

Cleo waved dismissively, "Ghoulia, remind yourself to remind me to remind you to check the agenda more often." Ghoulia nodded as she jotted down Cleo's words.

Spectra sighed, "Well I'm glad I came up here early or else you could have been in a world of trouble later tonight."

Darling set her homework to the side and sat up straight, "I'm sorry, I seem to have forgotten what a night raid was. May you go over it one more time please?"

Spectra held up a finger, "All right, but this is the last time I go over this." She turned around and floated towards the entrance of the dorm, "Follow me please."

Everyone followed Spectra towards the entry controller podium in front of the door. On the podium was a book labeled _Entry Control Point_ and on a shelf of the podium were two black flashlights with pale yellow cones attached to the light portion.

Spectra flipped open the book and pointed at the pages, "Night raids are done randomly throughout the year, you never officially know when you're going to have one so you must ensure the dorm is inspection ready _before_ you go to sleep. The first shift starts after lights out, so for you right now it will be 2100 but when you're a sophomore it will be 2200."

Abbey raised her hand, "And when junior and senior?"

Spectra shook her head, "There isn't really a curfew for juniors and seniors. You _can_ post a guard for the night as a junior but when you're a senior… I'm not staying up all night just in case I get raided."

Abbey thrust her jaw upward which drew attention to her tusk, "Hn."

Spectra turned back towards the log book, "Okay, so first shift starts at 2100. At that time two entry controllers will come stand guard at the podium. You all can decide how long your shifts are but I highly recommend two-hour increments. Also no one should ever pull consecutive shifts, that's just cruel. While you're on shift, you can quietly study but you must do hourly checks of the dorm and write it down here."

She flipped to the back of the book and lifted it to show off the lined pages. A few examples were already written in the book. She then set the book down and pointed to the flashlights, "When you go and check the dormitory you are looking to be sure everyone is asleep in their bed, all valuables have been secured and that the temperature in the dorm is appropriate. Use the flashlight to walk around, don't turn on the lights while everyone is sleeping. The cone softens the brightness of the flashlight so it really is useful. Although it does make you look like a _dreadeye_ from _Star Battles_."

Spectra giggled as she picked up the flashlight and flicked it on and off. Billy became visible, picked up the second flashlight and pointed it at Spectra. She smiled and pointed her flashlight at Billy then made whooshing noises with her mouth when she turned the light on. Billy did the same and they play fought with one another.

Cleo folded her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. Irritated she cleared her throat, "Ahem, Spectra. I believe you were explaining something."

Spectra jabbed at Billy once more before she turned off the flashlight and smiled apologetically at Cleo, "Sorry. It's just been so long since someone got that reference. You have no idea how hard it is living with people who haven't seen _Star Battles_."

Cleo waved dismissively as Billy and Spectra set the flashlights down, " _Star Battles_ was never really my _thing_."

Ghoulia groaned questioningly and Cleo turned to her with a raised eyebrow, "No Ghoulia I did not enjoy _Star Hike_ either. Although that Captain Treecard was _quite_ debonair."

Ghoulia smiled and groaned emphatically. Cleo rolled her eyes and looked at her nails, "Alright fine, I enjoyed it _a little_."

Spectra blinked at Cleo, "I never would have pegged you as a _Hikkie,_ which version?"

Cleo shook her head and scoffed, "Ugh, I'm not a _fan_. But if I _was_ then I would be a next generation fan for life."

Ghoulia laughed and Cleo scowled, "Oh hush Ghoulia, I didn't like it that much."

Abbey furrowed her brow, "What is this _show_ about hike in stars?"

Frankie turned towards Abbey, " _Star Hike_ is a fun bit of sci-fi you should watch it sometime."

Abbey folded her arms, "Is impossible. Ural Mountains have no television. There is ice, snow, hare, goat, wooly mammoth, yak, and yeti."

Crecha put her hands on her hips and frowned, "It's impossible period. Is everyone forgetting the whole _taken to a mysterious place_ thing?"

Lagoona shook her head, "We didn't forget mate, we were just talking about old times."

Crecha rolled her eyes, "You guys are so ditzy. No point in talking about home, you'll just make yourself homesick."

Lagoona furrowed her brow, "No point in being grumpy either. We're all stuck here together might as well make the moments away from teachers pleasant."

Spectra perked up, "Oh, speaking of teachers, they will check your log book when they do a night raid so make sure to fill it out. You write in it every ten minutes after you check the latrine and every hour after you check the entire dorm. Make sure that all valuables are secured or else the LTs will take it when they do their sweep."

Faybelle glanced at Blondie, "Need to lock up our valuables period. Blondie has a tendency of taking what doesn't belong to her."

Blondie glared, "If you didn't want me to use your things why would you leave it out?"

Faybelle jerked her thumb towards Blondie, "See what I mean?"

Spectra pressed her lips together, "Umm, okay. Well just be sure to secure your things along with the doors and windows. Well, once you become a sophomore make sure to secure the window, I forgot how dingy and depressing freshman dorm was. Annotate in the log how everything is secure. Oh, and try not to leave the guard post unattended. That's a big no-no. Unless the other entry controller hasn't returned from a check after fifteen minutes and even then, the LTs get a bit iffy on it."

Spectra tapped her chin, "I think that's everything… oh a duress word. Now this is a super hypothetical one, but your class should come up with a word that when you say it the other people in your class will know to help you or seek help."

Twyla squinted, "Duress…"

Farrah tilted her head, "Umm, I apologize but can you explain it more?"

Spectra turned towards Farrah, "A duress word is unique to each class, basically if the enemy has you and orders you to act natural so they can do bad things, you would use this word. You can come up with one when I'm gone. But it should be a word that doesn't normally come up in regular conversation, so when it is spoken your classmates know to do something. Any questions?"

Robecca shook her head, "No. None that I can think of, your message was quite informative."

Faybelle narrowed her eyes at Robecca, "How come you didn't remember all that the _first-time_ Spectra told us. If anything, you should have reminded Cleo to make the entry controller schedule."

Robecca nodded slowly and the sound of gears whirring could be heard as she spoke, "Hmm, I hear what you are saying Faybelle and I will file your complaint under _I don't give a toss_ , _sod off_."

Billy turned towards Spectra and jerked his head towards the rest of his classmates as he mumbled, "I think they hate each other already."

Spectra leaned close to Billy and whispered, "It doesn't take us girls long to get like that."

Billy raised his eyebrows, "Yeah? Even you?"

Spectra lowered her eyelids at Billy and muttered, "I hate Freddie and Duchess so much and I've had to deal with them going on four years. There were days I genuinely tried to kill Freddie in her sleep. She wouldn't die."

Billy laughed heartily and leaned closer to Spectra, "Well you're almost done yeah? Not too long before you're officially Freddie free?"

Spectra rested her head upon Billy's shoulder and looked at the ground as she sighed, "I'm afraid it's just not soon enough."

Billy blushed at the contact and became invisible.

Twyla folded her arms and glanced between the two. _Are they going to date again?_

Spectra looked through him and smirked, "Some things never change but I have." She then reached through Billy and she too became invisible.

Ghoulia and Cleo gasped. Ghoulia looked at Cleo and groaned in shock. Cleo nodded, "I know. So scandalous."

Twyla rolled her eyes and glanced around at everyone, "Shouldn't we be making the schedule for entry controller?"

Robecca turned towards Twyla and nodded, "How right you are Twyla, making the schedule would be a _much_ more productive thing to do with our time."

Faybelle landed on the floor and stood next to Robecca with her hands on her hips, "Yes, productivity would totally be a good thing. How about you like, calculate the perfect schedule and print it out for us?"

Robecca lowered her eyes and glowered at Faybelle, "I'm a steam robot not a printer, although I suppose you wouldn't really understand the difference."

Faybelle sucked her teeth and leaned closer to Robecca, "You're useless to me either way."

Billy became visible in between Faybelle and Robecca as a visible Spectra pouted right next to a glaring Darling. He glanced between them, "So you two obviously should not work together as entry controllers."

Ghoulia groaned inquisitively. Cleo nodded and pointed to herself, "Of course, you will work with me Ghoulia, I wouldn't have it any other way."

Cleo glanced around the room, "As for the shifts, it will be 2100 to 2300, 2300 to 0100, 0100 to 0300 and 0300 to 0530."

Twyla frowned, "Why would the last shift be an _extra_ thirty minutes? Why wouldn't we split the shifts from 2100 to 0000, 0000 to 0300 and 0300 to 0530?"

Cleo waved dismissively, "Because it's easier _my_ way, and just for questioning me you can take the last shift."

Twyla shrieked, "What? That's completely unfair! You can just change the shift times to distribute the time better between each shift."

Faybelle snickered, "Oh no, I second Cleo's idea. Last shift is worse shift and Farrah should be your partner."

Farrah looked genuinely shocked, "Wha… but Faybelle what have I-"

Faybelle snapped her fingers in front of Farrah's face, "Uh because I need my beauty sleep and like, you and bubble butt over there can keep each other company. You know what they say about birds of a feather."

Farrah looked at the ground and blushed as she tried to smooth the back of her skirt, "I… I understand."

Twyla shook her head, "No… I don't understand."

Cleo waved dismissively and pointed to Ghoulia, "It doesn't matter. Ghoulia make sure to mark them down for that shift."

Ghoulia groaned with a raised eyebrow. Cleo rolled her eyes, "Put us down for the first shift, I would rather go to sleep later than be woken up in the middle of the night."

Evie held one hand up and pointed to herself with the other, "Ooh, put me down for first shift as well. My body at rest wants to stay at rest."

Cleo raised an eyebrow, "There can't be three people on the same shift."

Ghoulia groaned and tapped the page with her pen. Cleo looked at the names Ghoulia had written down in the log book, "Oh? There are two sets of shifts. Looks like I'll be working every _other_ night. Very good Ghoulia."

Lagoona nodded, "Oh good, I was afraid everyone would end up with a dicey shift. Which by the way Cleo, not very fair of you to stick Twyla with it."

Cleo shrugged, "Would _you_ rather work her shift?"

Lagoona held her hands up, "Ugh, no thanks."

Cleo nodded and looked at her nails, "That's what I thought."

Faybelle pointed at Ghoulia, "Put me down for like that first shift then. I don't mind working with another future queen."

Evie beamed, "Sounds perfect!"

Faybelle smiled, "I know."

Blondie looked over Ghoulia's shoulder and sighed, "Guess I'll take the second shift then."

As Ghoulia wrote Blondie's name down Billy glanced down at Robecca, "Can you work with Blondie?"

Robecca snorted and looked up at Billy with a raised eyebrow, "Can you?"

Billy chuckled, "I suppose I can. Ghoulia put me down next to Blondie."

Ghoulia groaned in acknowledgement and Blondie narrowed her eyes, "What's that's supposed to mean?"

Crecha rolled her eyes, "Ghoulia only said no problem. Damn tubby you get butt hurt for no damn reason."

Blondie grit her teeth and growled, "I'm not _fat_ , or tubby or chunky! My weight is just right, I simply have curves. Stop calling me fat."

Crecha folded her arms and snorted, "Said the girl with the love handles."

Blondie raised her hands as if she was about to choke Crecha and Billy pushed her hands down.

Frankie grimaced as she saw what shifts were left, "Well I guess I'll take the 0100 shift. Golly that shift looks like the worse one, right in the middle of the night."

Lagoona nodded and bit her lip, "Nah yeah, that one's the worst but I'll work it with you."

Crecha crossed the room and shoved Lagoona, "What do you mean you'll work it with Frankie? I'm with Frankie."

Frankie held her hands up passively, "Hey Crecha its okay, we're together for everything else, surely this one thing won't rip apart the fabrics of time if we're not together."

Robecca glided over to Crecha and put a hand on her shoulder, "You can work with me if you like."

Crecha took one glance at Robecca's bright copper face and sighed, "Fine. I'll work with Robecca then."

Lagoona removed non-existent dirt from her shirt and nodded slowly, "Oh good. Glad I got your permission to work with Frankie."

Darling glanced at Abbey, "Guess that leaves you with me."

Abbey nodded, "Indeed."

Twyla looked at the schedule Ghoulia had written and frowned, "This schedule…"

Farrah walked over to it and glanced at Twyla, "Why are we the only ones working _every_ night?"

Ghoulia shrugged and groaned in explanation. Twyla sighed, "So we have fourteen people, if we change the time of the shifts it would be fair to everyone."

Cleo waved dismissively and sashayed towards the bed bay, "It doesn't matter the schedule has been made. Ghoulia, let's finish our homework."

Ghoulia groaned apologetically and shuffled towards the bed bay.

As everyone else headed towards the bed area Spectra put a hand through Billy's shoulder, "Oh Billy, when did you…"

Billy turned towards Spectra, "Does eight sound good?"

Spectra smiled and nodded, "Sounds great, I'll be waiting." She waved goodbye and rushed through the door. Billy smiled, shoved his hands in his pockets and made his way towards the bed bay.

Twyla and Farrah remained by the podium. Twyla sighed, "How did we end up with the short stick?"

Farrah shook her head and frowned, "I… I don't know, feels like a bad short joke though."

Twyla grimaced and glanced at Farrah, "Do you think that if we came up with a better schedule, they would take our suggestion?"

Farrah shook her head solemnly, "I doubt it. Faybelle isn't the type to listen."

Twyla let out a heavy sigh, "Yeah. Cleo doesn't seem the type either. Guess we're stuck."

Farrah nodded sympathetically, "Guess we're stuck."

Twyla and Farrah closed the entry controller log and made their way towards the bed bay. They sat next to one another and whispered about a better way. They even made a schedule that would work for everyone but they didn't present it. They stayed in their corner of the room, speaking in hushed tones hoping that one day their complaints would be heard.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which are trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Thirteen:

Lather, Rinse, Repeat

Saturday morning Twyla and crew rolled out of bed around 1000 and shuffled into the latrine for their morning routine. The previous evening had resulted in brutal punishment when LT Ching caught them snacking on their granola bar stash. Ching wouldn't let them rest until all snack foods were accounted for and destroyed. Everyone went to sleep around 0300 that morning. Twyla was glad that it was Saturday for rest was what her body needed.

As she washed the sleep out of her eyes she noticed how slim she had become. Her wisteria skin was a deeper shade of purple in random places and her violet eyes were slightly sunken with puffy bags underneath from so many nights of not sleeping.

Cleo, beside her at the sink, sighed as she tightened the bandages around her neck, "Morning all. How are you?"

Ghoulia pointed to the skin that had separated from her temple and groaned in a grumbling tone.

Evie nodded as she pulled at the bags under her eyes, "You said it Ghoulia. This place is murder on my beautiful complexion."

Faybelle put her white hair in a high ponytail and tied her blue ribbon at the base to keep it in place. She quirked a brow, "Since when did you understand zombie?"

Evie shook her head and applied eye cream on her eye bags, "I don't, but context clues made it really obvious what she was talking about."

Frankie combed her hair to volumize her asymmetrical bob. She accidently knocked a bolt out of her neck. Static built with the circuit incomplete and she shocked everyone. Frankie cringe-smiled, "Sorry."

Crecha closed her eyes and put her long hair in a sideways ponytail, "Don't be, I'm fine."

Lagoona grabbed some moisturizer and scowled at Crecha, "I'm pretty sure Frankie was speaking to us mate."

Crecha shrugged and tossed her ponytail over her shoulder, "You can think that."

Lagoona narrowed her eyes at Crecha as she applied her moisturizer.

Robecca poured oil onto a buffer and polished her face, "While it was quite the shock Frankie, I thank you for the boost. It's so hard to recharge without my charging station."

Darling glanced at Robecca while brushing her platinum blonde hair, "How _do_ you recharge? I would hate for you to run out of battery."

Robecca smiled, "Well, I was designed to run as a self-sufficient steam robot with electromechanical energy transfer. Steam drives my generator which converts mechanical energy to electrical energy; however, modern technology allowed me to simply _charge_ my generator. My own laziness has placed me in the bind I'm in, but it was so convenient to charge my iCoffin and myself at the same time."

Farrah squeezed between Twyla and Cleo to see herself in the mirror as she brushed her dark cerulean hair, "So Robecca, do your mechanical parts still work?"

Robecca lifted her foot and steam gushed out of the bottom, "Absolutely, and honestly it's refreshing to feel steam running through these old nozzles." She put her foot down and continued to buff her face, "The rotation of my rotor is very relaxing, I didn't realize how much I missed it until high pressure steam started running through it. I may have been kidnapped but I at least get to enjoy the little things in life."

Blondie picked up Robecca's oil can and scrunched her brow in confusion, "You _like_ running on old fashion steam power?"

Robecca grabbed the can from Blondie and set it down, "Yes and my oil is not meant for _skin_ application."

Blondie held up hand with her nose scrunched, "Ahh, okay?"

Abbey huffed and pushed Blondie towards the latrine door, "You finished. You get dressed. Don't need you here stealing things."

Blondie scowled as she was thrown out the door, "It's not stealing if you leave it out for me!"

Abbey dusted off her hands and walked over to a mirror, "Thief is nuisance."

Faybelle chuckled and made room for Abbey, "Blondie can't help it, it's all part of her story, hex. It's part of both her parent's stories."

Cleo put her earrings on and turned towards Faybelle, "Explain."

Faybelle looked at Cleo and giggled with fiendish delight, "Ooh, that's right! You guys wouldn't know about Blondie's _dad_."

Cleo put her hands on her hips and stood her full height, "You will _tell_ me about this man and you will tell me now!"

Faybelle smirked and bowed, "Of course your majesty, would hate for you to be _under_ informed about your subjects."

Darling stuck her nose in the air as she left the room, "I would not heed her words, Cleo. Faybelle's an Isle villain, her kind loves to spread senseless gossip."

Faybelle scowled as she raised her hands, "I could sooo curse you Charming."

Twyla raised an eyebrow, "What isle?"

Farrah furrowed her brow "It's so fascinating that you don't know of it, but then again I've never heard of anywhere but the dark forest housing monsters." She tilted her head and drummed her fingers on her chin, "Well, its an island that was created by a collective of princesses long ago. They knew they needed their storybook villains but they didn't want to live next to them. They were afraid of them you see, so they sent created an island inside of a magical barrier for them to live until it was time to live out their storybook fate. Of course, only the criminally insane villains were sent to live there. Blondie's family lives on the Faireterra side."

Faybelle shouted as she stomped out of the latrine, "Farrah! How dare you speak ill of your queen; I shall curse your wardrobe!"

Farrah gasped and followed, "Sorrrrrryyy!"

Cleo raised an arched eyebrow, "Who all is from that Isle?"

Evie leaned against the sink and pointed to herself, "I'm from there, as is Faybelle and of course Freddie. Obviously, some of us are worse than others but we all get sort of the same start. I didn't take any classes with Faybelle in elementary school but I did see Freddie in my transformative concoctions classes." She sighed, "When we got selected for Auradon Prep on the mainland side I thought Freddie was changing for the better. I heard a rumor but…" She shook her head which tussled her locks, "Nevermind."

Abbey's stomach rumbled and she growled, "Ugh. I could eat entire yak. Come let us dress and have meal."

Cleo, Frankie, Crecha, and Ghoulia followed Abbey out of the latrine. Twyla moved closer to the sink and finished her morning routine along with Robecca and Evie.

Evie tucked her hair behind her ear then turned to Robecca, "You know I love your copper look but have you considered adding some paint to your lips? I think you would look fabmazing with a dark chocolate lip."

Robecca raised an eyebrow at Evie, "Fabmazing?"

Evie smiled and pointed to herself, "Fabmazing! It's both fabulous and amazing!"

Robecca nodded with dawning comprehension, "Oh, fabmazing. Okay, well as for paint, I do make my own lipstick. All wax and oil based of course and quite long lasting."

Evie gasped and clasped her hands together under her chin, "You make your own lipstick! I am so happy I finally get to chat with a fellow makeup connoisseur!"

Robecca smiled softly, "Well, I sort of have to, lipsticks for normal ghouls don't really apply to my metal the same."

Evie giggled, "I love it! We have so much in common, I totally mix it up in the lab. Just the other day, well back at Auradon, I took some leftover radioactive waste and made this popping neon berry lipstick. You would have loved it."

Twyla gaped at Evie as she brushed her hair, "I'm sorry, but did you say _radioactive waste_?"

Evie waved dismissively, "I know waste is such a harsh term because it's totally reusable! I mean ah, who wouldn't want glow in the dark lipstick the brightens your skin?"

Twyla grimaced, "Is that a rhetorical question?"

Evie put her hand on her chin and looked Twyla up and down, "Hmm, for you I'm thinking a super light pink, like sugar mixed with sand or a light purple for a cute nude lip."

Twyla stopped brushing her hair and walked away, "And on that note, I think I'm done." She entered the bed bay and ducked out of the way as Cleo tossed items out of her trunk. Twyla walked over to Blondie and Lagoona and asked, "What's with Cleo?"

Blondie gestured to everyone in the room, "Not just Cleo but everyone. You should check too but I'm pretty sure we all need to do laundry."

Twyla furrowed her brow, "Well, we have been here for two weeks..."

Lagoona nodded, "And we haven't done laundry since we got here."

Blondie grimaced, "Not to mention that a lot of our clothes were shredded in those first few days."

Twyla pulled at her pajamas and sighed, "Guess I'll wear the school uniform."

Blondie shook her head, "We were only issued seven of those."

Lagoona nodded, "And yet somehow we only wore them once."

Twyla frowned, "Wait…"

Blondie patted Twyla on the head, "Don't worry about it. Just throw on something and we can go eat."

Twyla glanced around for a shadow, perhaps she could make a shadow dress. She grimaced when she realized the shadows were gone, Freddie must have been on the prowl. Twyla sashayed over to her trunk and went through her things. There were two outfits that she could wear, her lilac Lolita dress with the white and grey ribbon down the middle or the blue and white layered ruffle Mori girl dress. Both dresses were hand made by her mother as a birthday present but she hated the ruffle dress. Her mother tended to make outfits that hid her figure and it annoyed Twyla to no end. She was eighteen years old; she didn't need an oversized ruffle dress that made her look like a little girl. She shook her head at the Mori girl ruffle dress and grabbed the lilac Lolita.

Once everyone was dressed, they went downstairs to the chow hall. Billy became visible and waved at them from a table as they went to sit down.

Twyla sat down in front of Billy with eyes narrowed, "Did you get up before us?"

Billy shrugged and pointed at her tray, "Something like that. I see you still love excessive amounts of sugar in the morning."

Twyla looked at her syrup-soaked apricot waffles and shrugged, "I like what I like, besides it was an option."

Blondie sat down next to Billy and looked at him mildly impressed, "Ooh, big fella is visible. Nice."

Billy chuckled and shook his head at Blondie, "At the moment lil' ma, sure."

Lagoona set her tray beside Twyla and sat down grinning, "Sushi and eggs for breakfast! I hate this place but this meal is _legit_."

Twyla gaped at Lagoona's fast paced eating, "How… can you eat so fast?"

Lagoona spoke between breaths, "Fear of Freddie, mate…. Want to finish my meal."

Billy took a sip of his orange juice, "Yeah, Freddie was prowling senior hall earlier looking for something, best not get in her way today."

Blondie pursed her lips, "Uh huh and how do you know that?"

Billy took a huge bite of his omelet and shrugged.

Blondie's mouth twisted to the side and she raised an eyebrow, "Mm hmm."

Twyla glanced between Blondie and Billy as she finished eating her meal. _They have pet names for each other. Are they dating? They have spent a lot of time together on entry controller duty perhaps they've just gotten close. But why big fella and lil' ma of all the names. And I really don't recall seeing him this morning… then again it is Billy I probably won't see him in the morning unless I remind him to let me see him. Maybe I'm reading too hard into this. Blondie's not his type any ways._

Once everyone was done, they made their way upstairs, grabbed their laundry bags along with their school work and traveled down to the laundry room which was across the hall from clothing sales. The laundry room was huge with over twenty washers and dryers lining the long walls. Twyla dragged her laundry bag over to a washer and deposited her clothes. She walked towards the short wall where dispensers were located to acquire detergent and fabric softener. She started the machines and glided over to the brightly colored plush wool and velvet woven sofas in the center of the room.

Blondie tossed her books onto the rosewood coffee tables and plopped down next to her sending goose and duck feathers flying. She grabbed the feathers and looked at the couch, "Feathers? These couches must have cost a fortune!"

Twyla raised an eyebrow at Blondie, "Or _not_. This _is_ a pirate school."

Lagoona sat down on the arm of the chair causing her black shorts to disappear underneath her blue hoodie, "Makes me wonder where all this stuff comes from. I feel sorry for the bloke that had to explain the missing shipment of washing machines. These look fairly new too."

Blondie gave Lagoona the stank eye, "Uh, were you raised in a barn?"

Lagoona frowned, "Yeah no mate, I'm from the sea."

Blondie pursed her lips, "Well on land we don't sit on the _arm_ of the sofa, we sit in the seat."

Lagoona rolled her eyes and slid into the seat sandwiching Twyla, "No need to get all bent out of shape over it. It's just a couch, mate."

Twyla elbowed Blondie and Lagoona, "Can't breathe."

Blondie moved over and Twyla scooted down to make room for Lagoona. As Blondie straighten her yellow sundress a yawning Freddie shuffled into the room. All chatter ceased as Freddie scratched herself at the washer. She opened her laundry bag and tossed her clothes in one washer then after passing several washers already in use tossed a dirty brown shag rug into another. Three shadow spirits trailed closely behind her and Freddie batted them out of the way as she grabbed laundry detergent, fabric softener and a gallon of bleach. Twyla held her breath as Freddie started her first washing machine. Freddie closed her eyes and yawned before she shuffled over to the washer with the rug and dumped the entire gallon of bleach inside. One of the spirits spotted Twyla and crew and chuckled.

Freddie smacked it with the back of her hand, "Shut up. Hot damn you are annoying." She closed the lid, started the washing machine and left the laundry room her spirits following.

Faybelle rolled over on the couch and looked out the archway, "Is she gone?"

Billy became visible underneath Faybelle and scowled, "Ah yeah! And you're doing that on purpose now, you knew I was sitting here the whole time."

Faybelle blushed, rolled off of Billy and nudged his knee with her foot, "Uh, like how am I supposed to remember that the seat right next to me is for my invisible friend? I'm not _two_."

Billy scoffed, "I'm invisible, not _imaginary_ and it really shouldn't be that hard to remember."

Faybelle followed her arms and curled into the couch, "Whatever after, any ways. Evie, let me borrow your notes."

Evie peered around Robecca with a raised eyebrow, "Uhh did you grab the bars I like?"

Faybelle furrowed her brow, "Uhhh, no. It's Saturday, why would I need to grab bars for you?"

Evie closed her eyes and sat back, "Then I don't need to share notes with you."

Ghoulia laughed and gurgled behind her hand as she leaned close to Cleo. Cleo smiled and held her head high, "Aren't they though?"

Abbey looked through her notes and mumbled under her breath, "Why that Faybelle not do own work?"

Farrah, who was right next to Abbey, replied, "She does her work… just not the stuff she knows other people will do."

Abbey snorted and shook her head, "In my village all pull their weight. No one point of failure."

Darling looked up from her notes at Abbey, "You keep mentioning this village. What is it like?"

Abbey smiled and looked wistful, "Strogiy, my village, wonderful place. Always minus 40 degrees and wind chill make minus 70. Perfect temperature. Wooly mammoth help with hunt, yak provide meat and milk. Goat is nuisance but we ignore. Ah but mountain hares, they come from village a few mountains over. They help with hunt too. Then snowboarding! I win all competition. Chief, my father, very proud of me. When letter come from Headless Headmistress Bloodgood, he say I represent village well. He then gift me this."

Abbey touched the ice crystal necklace she always wore, "Is for keeping body right temperature. If not wear I get too hot and freeze everything around me."

Farrah tilted her head, "Wait if the hares and the mammoths help you hunt what are you hunting?"

Abbey smiled, "We go high and low for hunt. Sometimes, narwhals. Most times, moose. Wild moose never predictable. Less times reindeer, fleet of foot nice challenge."

Crecha shivered and rubbed her arms, "All this talk about the cold has me feeling chilly."

Robecca nodded, "Indeed. I hope your homes are warm, Abbey."

Abbey raised an eyebrow, "Home is practical. Lots of furs, family sit in huge cave and tell story. Mother carve mural on ice wall, both art and informative. Teach valuable lessons from hunt."

Frankie pointed at Abbey and smiled, "Abbey is the best when it comes to hide and seek."

Abbey held up one finger, closed her eyes and nodded, "Indeed. I always find lost things. "

Darling covered her mouth and giggled, "I think I would love to go hunting with you one day. I could show you how to fight a dragon."

Cleo glanced over at Darling, "And how would _you_ know how to fight a dragon? I thought you said only your _brothers_ could fight for valor and glory."

Darling smirked up at Cleo, "Well, what my family doesn't know won't hurt them. Besides if my skills in battle can aid us in escaping this place then it must have been fate."

Blondie looked over the couch and waggled a finger at Darling, "I'm telling you for your own good, but you need to be careful. If you stray too far from your destiny you might disappear."

Darling rolled her eyes, "My _destiny_ has yet to be decided and besides, Raven Queen rejected her destiny and she didn't go poof."

Blondie rolled her eyes, "Yeah but she's also the daughter of _the_ evil queen. Rejecting the norms of society is kind of already her destiny."

Faybelle shook her head, "Raven is soooo lame. If my mother was the most evil of all fairy tale queens I would love to follow in her footsteps."

Cleo raised an eyebrow at Faybelle, "I thought your mother _was_ an evil queen?"

Faybelle scowled, "My mother is the queen of the _dark_ fairies. Dark fairies use the power of the moon to fuel their magic and while we have complete control over our abilities, evil queens have even stronger magic. A dark Faye can cast an illusion _on_ the mountain, an evil queen can break _through_ it." She snorted, "Of course, lesser fairies like _Farrah_ use stars or whatever after and they have to like _train_ with a wand to even tap their magic abilities. So lame."

Farrah gripped the sides of her notebook and stared at the pages.

One of the washing machines buzzed and everyone looked up. All the machines they had loaded were still going. A goth girl with mid-back length aubergine hair and creamy beige skin strolled into the laundry room, the metal spikes on her ankle boots clanked together noisily as she walked.

Faybelle stared at the girl as though she was someone familiar. Twyla, curious about Faybelle's unusual silence, took in the girl's appearance. The girl didn't look like a typical royal. She wore distressed black denim skinny jeggings that hugged every curve of her leg, a black tube top, a dragon tattoo on her back and a black and purple plaid long sleeve shirt tied around her waist.

Faybelle continued to stare until the girl turned around. She gasped, "Mal?"


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which are trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Fourteen:

Lush Job

Mal glanced over shoulder and her eyes widened, "Wha… Faybelle? They got you too?"

Faybelle dropped her books, crossed the room and hugged her, "We thought you ran away."

Mal returned the hug and shook her head, "No, I was taken."

Faybelle leaned back and gazed upon her, "Why aren't you in the freshman dorm?"

Mal shook her head and chuckled, "I've been here going on three years Faybelle. This place is complicated, trust me."

Faybelle's wings rapidly flapped back and forth, "Three years?"

Cleo cleared her throat as she stood up and put her hands on her hips, "Faybelle, aren't you going to introduce me?"

Faybelle turned around and pointed to Mal, "Everyone meet my sister, Mal Thorn, first of house Thorn and _true_ heir to the throne."

Mal curtsied and placed a hand on her sister's shoulder, "Thanks but my title sort of rings hollow here."

Billy glanced between Mal and Faybelle then he turned towards Twyla and murmured, "Do they look like sisters to you?"

Twyla shook her head and whispered, "No. Not at all. I wonder if having no wings is a recessive thing?"

Billy shrugged, "No idea."

Faybelle pointed at him and approached, "What are you whispering about over there? You're in the presence of royalty, like show some respect!"

Mal smirked at Billy and her eyes changed from soft gray to green as she held up her hand and snapped her fingers, "Don't worry, he'll learn." A shimmer of purple rose from her black painted fingernails and went through the air in a swirl. Billy leaned back as the swirl reached him but it dissipated and tape covered his mouth.

Faybelle clapped, "You are like, so wicked awesome."

Mal booped her sister on the nose, "I know. Listen I have some things I need to catch up on, you stay out of trouble alright?"

Faybelle smiled, "Stay out of trouble or try to be trouble?"

Mal's eyes faded from green to gray as she closed them. She put her hands on her hips with a sigh, "This whole school _is_ trouble, no need to make more."

As Mal turned to leave, Farrah stood up and bowed. Mal gasped, "Goodfairy? They grabbed _another_ one?"

Farrah kept her eyes down and nodded, "Yes ma'am."

Mal grimaced and balled her hands into fist as she left the room muttering to herself.

Faybelle waved goodbye then turned towards Billy and ripped off the tape. He rubbed his face and glared at her.

Faybelle held her hands up defensively, "What? You were the one being disrespectful."

Billy promptly rolled his eyes and held his notebook up to his face to study. Everyone chatted amongst themselves as they waited for the washing machines to finish. When it was time, they moved everything over to the dryers. Freddie shuffled into the laundry room shortly afterwards to move her clothes over but even she was too tired to be bothered with picking on freshman. Twyla was grateful for Freddie's lackadaisical attitude for she knew it would return full force the next day.

When their clothes were dried, everyone packed up their things and headed upstairs. Twyla put her neatly folded clothing in her trunk, burying the Mori girl dress she hated. A gasp to the left of her caused her to turn around.

Lagoona stood next to Blondie's bed with a look of shock, "Blondie... where did you get this rug?"

Blondie glanced down at the off-white shag rug and shrugged, "It was laying around. Why?"

Abbey looked over at Blondie, "You stole! Is Freddie's rug."

Blondie shrugged, "She clearly doesn't mind me borrowing it."

Lagoona put her hands on the side of her face, "She doesn't know you've _stolen_ it!"

Faybelle lounged on her bed and chuckled, "Ooh what fun! The thief strikes again."

Blondie narrowed her eyes, "I didn't steal it! She left it out. Clearly a sign of trust, like hello I trust you with this item go ahead and borrow it."

Faybelle shook her head, "That's the same excuse your mom used before they threw her into the correctional facility."

Blondie put her hands on her hips and scowled, "First of all, my mother never went to the correctional facility, she ran into the woods and met the _bears_ , unlike your mom whose rotting in an iron cell as we speak!"

Faybelle smirked, "Oh that's right the _bears_. Your momma always loved them just the right size, didn't she? Need to get in and out of other people's homes to take their stuff; probably why she fell for your sleazy dad. Isn't he the one in the correctional facility?"

Blondie spoke through gritted teeth, "Shut up Faybelle."

Cleo waved to Ghoulia who pulled out a notebook. Cleo folded her arms and looked down her nose at Faybelle, "I take it her father was a _thief_ as well?"

Faybelle grinned and fluttered over to Cleo, "Oh he was more than just a thief."

Blondie growled through gritted teeth, "Shut up Faybelle."

Faybelle put her hands together, "He was the _butcher_."

Blondie turned a dark shade of red and shook with rage, "Shut it, you tart!"

Faybelle smirked at Blondie, "Your dad is a part of your story too Blondie. Probably where you get your _sticky_ fingers. I'd hate to wake up in the middle of the night to you standing over me swinging that-"

Blondie dove for Faybelle and Faybelle dodged.

Cleo scowled and snapped her fingers at Billy, "Get them before they hurt themselves."

Billy frowned and went invisible. Cleo scoffed, "Must I do everything mys- oh my RAH!"

Billy grabbed Faybelle mid-air and became visible. Blondie stopped swinging her fist and sank down on the ground.

Cleo folded her arms and glared at Blondie as Faybelle punched Billy in the face, "Either you tell me or I find out from Faybelle later. Why was your father arrested?"

Billy grunted as Faybelle wrapped her legs around him and brought her open palm across his cheek.

Blondie pouted up at Cleo, "I'm a royal through my mother! I follow tradition and destiny! It doesn't matter what my dad did."

Cleo raised an eyebrow, "So you say and yet everything I've heard about you contradicts that statement. I can understand wanting to be royalty, we are remarkable, but this is an outright lie. You live in a _cottage_ on a dead-end street. Your mother may indeed be the mayor now, but that does not make you royalty."

Billy shielded his face with his arms as Faybelle smacked him.

Blondie slammed her fist on the floor, "She is _Queen_ of her community! I'm a royal. My story is one of legends! Every child in the world knows the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. I am a part of tradition, I set an example for everyone. I am royalty!"

Faybelle smacked Billy's arms with gusto.

Cleo nodded at Ghoulia then sank down and sat by Blondie, "I am _vaguely_ aware of your story, no need to fuss. What I want to know is what does that mean for _you_? Are you going to constantly steal things? Will you always break into places? This is something that effects _everyone_ in my kingdom. So far, I have an invisible man, three princesses, one fairy godmother, two stitch monsters, a steam robot, a sea monster, an ice yeti, a boogey monster, and a zombie. The only one I don't know how to categorize is you. I can't give you aid if I don't know what you are."

Blondie pouted as tears formed in her eyes, "I'm a royal…"

Cleo scowled, "Are you a royal thief or a royal pain?"

Faybelle paused mid-swing and replied, "Both!" Billy tried to push Faybelle off of him during the reprieve.

Blondie sighed and wiped her eyes, "I'm a royal locksmith. I unlock things."

Faybelle slammed Billy onto the ground as she gripped the sides of his head.

Cleo nodded and Ghoulia wrote it down, "A locksmith, got it. Good to know. I take it the thief thing comes from your dad?"

Faybelle and Billy began to roll around on the floor with Billy taking all of Faybelle's blows. Darling, Evie and Robecca all moved out of the way. When Faybelle slammed into the bedframe she leaned down and bit Billy's shoulder. Billy winced and bit Faybelle on the neck.

Faybelle screamed and let go of him. She sat up and held her neck, "That hurt!"

Billy fell back onto the ground and threw his hands up exasperated, "You bit me first."

Faybelle slapped his bitten shoulder with her free hand and held her neck, "You're a monster, you have like _bullet-proof_ scales or something. I'm a fair and delicate fairy princess, I think I'm like, losing blood."

Billy rolled his eyes, "A fairy princess that bit my arm. It's not even that bad let me see."

Faybelle whined, "You ripped out my arteries with your stupid fangs. I'm like, dying."

Billy sat up and pushed Faybelle off his waist and into his lap, "You're not dying."

Faybelle made a gross cry face, "Yes I am. You poisoned me with your fangs and I'm going to die."

Billy lifted Faybelle's hand and looked at the bite. He rolled his eyes and flicked out his tongue to lick the wound, "My fangs aren't that sharp and I'm not poisonous."

Faybelle startled by the speed and the length of Billy's tongue shrank back and stared at him, "The hex was that?"

Billy pushed Faybelle onto the ground and stood up, "Feel better? Or are you still totally dying?"

Faybelle kicked Billy in the knee and stomped over to Cleo, "Cleo! He's a total snake! He bit me."

Cleo scowled up at Faybelle, "A royal does not _roll around_ on the ground with a boy in the first place. Much less reduce ourselves to _biting_. As for the snake thing, no worries snakes _love_ me."

She turned back to Blondie, "And as for you, my sticky-fingered friend, you are going to take that hideous carpet back downstairs where Freddie can find it. Take Billy with you. He can ensure you are not spotted when you drop it off. Oh, and take a lookout. I would hate for you to drop off the carpet then turn around and bump into Freddie."

Billy furrowed his brow, "I can be a lookout as well as a cloak."

Cleo shook her head and looked around the room, "I need you to concentrate on one thing and one thing _only_. Hmm, Twyla you go with them. You three can redeem yourselves by safely returning the carpet. After that last debacle in the hallway I hope you've learned to be more discreet."

Twyla scowled at Cleo, "Do I get a say in this?"

Cleo looked at her nails, "Is the sky brown?"

Twyla rolled her eyes and stood up, "Ugh, I don't even care. Let's just get this over with."

Billy, Blondie and Twyla grabbed the rug, linked hands and made their way down the stairs. As they approached the laundry room they heard someone slam several dryer doors.

Freddie had her back to the door as she searched every dryer, "What did I do with it? I could have _sworn_ I put it on top of the dryer."

Billy, Blondie and Twyla crept around the corner with the rug and tried to place it on top of a dryer. One of the shadow spirits spotted them and giggled.

Freddie turned towards the spirit irritated, "What are you laughing about now!?"

The shadow spirit tried to point towards Twyla but its arms were too short and it ended up pointing to the ceiling.

Freddie huffed, "What? Are you saying I left it upstairs?" She smacked all the spirits, grabbed her laundry bag of clean clothes and stomped out of the laundry room, "Why didn't you say that earlier?"

The spirits laughed and followed Freddie as it pointed at Billy, Blondie and Twyla. Freddie stopped in the hallway and looked to where they pointed, "What? What the frig are you talking about?"

The spirits chuckled again and pulled on Freddie's hair to lead her. Billy brought Blondie and Twyla closer and wrapped his arms around their waist to drag them out of Freddie's path. The spirits led Freddie in a circle trying to follow as Billy avoided them. Billy backed out into the hallway and made his way towards the stairs.

Freddie annoyed slapped the spirit and sent it flying through the wall, "Stop frigging playing around. I don't have time for games."

Billy backed up against the wall with Blondie and Twyla tucked under each of his arms.

Freddie stomped towards the stairs, "Why, of all the spirits the shadow realm could have sent me, did it send these three!? Dumbest spirits ever!" Her foot slipped on the rug Blondie was holding and she stumbled up a few steps. The spirits laughed and Freddie turned to glare at them.

Billy carried Blondie and Twyla as quietly up the stairs as possible.

Freddie put her hands on her hips and pointed at the spirits, "What's so funny? You want to go back to the shadow realm? My deal says I only have to summon spirits _once_ a day, doesn't say how long I have to keep them out!"

The spirits stopped laughing but noticing Billy's ascent pointed up at him. Freddie rolled her eyes and continued up the stairs, "Whatever after. I have to put away my clothes."

Duchess stood on the landing of the senior floor and Billy had to duck into the senior hallway to avoid bumping into her. Duchess glared down at Freddie, her black hair was uncombed and askew as she stood with her hands on her hips, "Freddie! Did your shadows take my brush?"

Freddie tossed her laundry bag over her shoulder and approached Duchess, "Your brush? Ugh, probably. These three can't get anything right."

Freddie turned into the senior hallway and Billy backed up further into the hall.

Duchess followed Freddie, "Wait did you need a brush or something?"

Freddie stopped in front of her dorm room and opened the door, "Doesn't matter what I needed, point is they didn't grab the right one." She gestured towards the open door, "After you."

Duchess stood to the side with her hands on her hips and honked, "Waaaaait just a sec, you're not trying to take Melody's hair brush for more of your voodoo, are you?"

Billy ducked into Freddie's room. The spirits pointed and laughed.

Freddie narrowed her eyes at the spirits, "If you fools had grabbed the right brush, I wouldn't be having this conversation with ducky over here." She then grabbed Duchess by the arm and tossed her into the dorm room, "And you don't worry about what I do with Melody."

Duchess tripped over Billy and fell face first into Freddie's dresser knocking over a black walking cane with a clawed hand holding a glowing purple orb. Duchess rubbed her face as Billy moved further into the room.

Freddie tossed her laundry onto one of the two beds in the room and picked up the cane, "Dammit Duchess, you almost broke this!"

The spirits looked at Billy and slammed the door shut. Freddie turned towards them, "Stop being so weird!"

The spirits chuckled and circled over Billy, Blondie and Twyla in an attempt to give away their location.

Freddie rolled her eyes as she placed the cane on the dresser and turned towards Duchess, "Ignore them, now I do believe you came here for your brush."

Duchess stood up and nodded, "Yes. But Freddie really you need to stop-"

Freddie crossed the room, opened her bedside table and threw Duchess her brush, "I don't _need_ to do anything. Melody is my business and if I want her, I will have her. The end."

Billy tried to move away from the spirits but they kept following him. Blondie dropped the rug and it became visible before she grabbed it again. Twyla held her breath as the spirits turned towards Freddie and pointed enthusiastically.

Duchess picked up her brush and examined it, "So… you picked my brush clean. Can I have my hair back?"

Freddie rolled her eyes and folded her arms, "Now why would I give that back? It's more convenient for me if I keep it."

Duchess sighed and brushed her hair back, "Whatever aaaaaafter. Can you at least ease up off the freshman class? I'm sick and tired of constantly interrupting my schedule for them."

One of the spirits flew over to Freddie and pulled her pigtail. She smacked it which sent it flying across the room, "Look, bird brain. The freshmen are our responsibility until the summer. After they go into the blood forest the rest of our school year will be a piece of meat pie. Now, you have your brush, it's time to leave."

Duchess huffed and left the room. Billy backed away as the spirits continued to point towards them. Billy's back hit the closet and it slid open. The spirits turned towards Freddie and pointed to the door.

Freddie narrowed her eyes and crossed the room, Billy panicked and backed further into the door. Freddie paused in front of the door as the spirits laughed around her. Twyla heard a faint vibrating noise, like a peacock rustling its tail feathers come from Billy. Freddie appeared confused and opened her closet door. Billy backed into the closet corner and pulled Blondie and Twyla close to his chest. When Freddie stepped into the closet to look around Blondie pressed the rug against the wall and mounted Billy, sandwiching Twyla in the middle. Twyla could feel Billy's heartbeat hammering in his chest as Freddie searched the closet. Billy continued to make the faint vibrating noise and Freddie stopped her search.

The shadow spirits glanced at Billy and laughed loudly, holding onto their stomachs as the spun around in the air.

Freddie pulled the shadow realm key out of her pocket and opened the shadow door, "You three are freaking useless! Go back to the shadows from whence you came."

The spirits screamed as a shadow vortex formed and sucked them into it before closing. Freddie caught the key and winced as she pushed it back into the open mouth skull brand on her chest.

She turned towards her bed, spotted her laundry bag and mumbled, "Ugh, great. They made me forget my rug." Freddie left the room with a slam of the door.

Billy became visible and let out a long breath.

Blondie dropped the rug, leaned backwards and rested the back of her head on the floor, "Let's never do that again."

Twyla pushed off Billy's chest and glared down at Blondie, "We wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't stolen the rug."

Blondie glanced up at Twyla sitting in her lap and huffed, "Not stolen. Borrowed. I really don't see why we had to return it. Freddie would have simply gotten a new rug; I mean she seems to leave and come back whenever she wants."

Twyla propped her elbow on Billy's knee and rested her cheek against her fist, "You took something without asking. Stop assuming that the other person is going to be okay with that."

Billy grunted underneath Blondie and Twyla, "Can we have this discussion later, preferably _not_ on top of me in Freddie's closet?"

Blondie reached up, grabbed Twyla by the hips and slid off of Billy's lap, "No problem. Let's get out of here. Oh wow, Twyla you are so light weight."

Twyla grunted and tried to sit up but Blondie was still holding her hips, "Blondie… you can let me go now."

Blondie squeezed Twyla's midriff and snuggled against her hair, "And your hair is so soft, just like a bunny! You are just the right size; I am so jealous."

Billy groaned, "Blondie, let go of Twyla we need to get out of here, now."

Blondie let go of Twyla and huffed, "All right Invisi boy lets go."

Twyla glanced at the shadows and hummed, "I think I have a better idea."

Billy's lower half became invisible as he sat up, "What's up?"

Twyla raised an eyebrow at him and pointed to the shadows, "We can take a short cut through the shadow. Just hold my hand and we can avoid the door. Just have to be careful walking up the stairs."

Blondie grabbed Twyla's hand and smiled, "I'm game, let's go."

Billy grabbed Twyla's hand and narrowed his eyes at Blondie, "You didn't take anything else, did you?"

Blondie held her other hand up and shook her head, "I promise big fella, only thing in my hand is Twyla and if you're worried, calm down. I'm not borrowing her."

Billy raised an eyebrow, "How are you going to borrow Twyla?"

Blondie smirked at him, "You can borrow anything if you _try_."

Twyla shook her head and pulled them both into shadow, "You two are so weird."

A calming hush surrounded her as the noise of the normal realm fell away. She sighed in relief as the shadows welcomed her like a parent with a warm blanket after her stint in the cold. The dust of the normal realm crumbled to the ground like a pouting child waiting to be picked up. She smiled as she took in the familiar black and grey scene of the shadow world. Her inverted parallel of the normal world was as close to home as she was going to get. She loved the way her body lengthened and flattened to remain inside the shadows, though her traveling companions did not seem so enthused.

Blondie huffed, "It's too dark in here, how do you see?"

Twyla whispered, "Be quiet, we're still on the senior floor."

Blondie mumbled back, "How does this even work?"

Twyla murmured as she tugged Billy and Blondie further through shadow, "Shadows exist as part of the regular world because objects obstruct light from reaching the ground. So, walking in shadow means there is no light. As for walking in it, some monsters have ease of access to planes of parallel existence. Ghost have access to the ghost world, Fatalwa, and I have access to all shadows and Moemoea, the dream plane. Careful, we're at the stairs."

Blondie and Billy stumbled up the stairs in shadow but they managed to avoid Freddie. When they reached the freshman floor, Twyla walked them into the dorm and walked them out of Abbey's shadow, much to Abbey's surprise.

Blondie blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light, "I don't know how I feel about what just happened."

Billy let go of Twyla's hand and became completely invisible, "Well, I think it's time to study."

Twyla turned towards Blondie and let go of her hand, "Never _borrow_ again!"

Blondie shrugged, "What? How can you expect me to _not_ borrow things?"

Twyla rolled her eyes and walked over to Lagoona, "Have some self-control."

Blondie walked over to Twyla and pointed to herself, "I have self-control."

Everyone in the room groaned. Blondie blinked, "What? I totally have self-control!"

Cleo shook her head, "The only part of yourself that you control is your hair and even then, it looks like you've been rolling around in a bay of hay. What happened down there?"

Twyla shook her head, "Freddie's shadow spirits pointed us out. It was nearly impossible to toss the rug. Luckily we managed to leave it in Freddie's closet."

Cleo raised an eyebrow, "Freddie's closet? Why were you in her closet?"

Twyla sighed, "Long story."

Cleo looked cross until Twyla told her everything. Everyone had a good laugh at her expense before turning back to their studies. As the day drew to a close Twyla's mind drifted back to Freddie's conversation with Duchess. Twyla didn't know what the summer had in store but she was not looking forward to it.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which are trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Fifteen:

Remove the Chains That Bind

The next three months leading up to June 11, perpetuated the hellish nightmare that was Twyla's new life. The last day of spring, however, was the day Twyla learned a valuable lesson.

It was the last class of the day with LT Ching in classroom four. The sun warmed the room and the cherry wood paneled walls eased Twyla into a drowsy mood. She tried to focus on the blackboard as the sparsely decorated walls made it the centerpiece of the room but she was so tired. Her head drifted downward towards the latch on her desk. It was in the shape of a dragon's mouth, one of the many minute details that could be found in Ching's classroom, to include the dragon's claws at the feet of each bench seat and the pair of dragon eyes carved onto the front of the teacher's desk overlooking the classroom.

Ching always had a way of complicating even the simplest of topics and Ching was teaching a multi-lingual crash course on _Haitian Aztec and Dutch_. HAD for short. Twyla had a hard time keeping her eyes open. She just needed to power through the next two and half hours of class then go to dinner and she could go to bed. The screech of chalk tapping on the blackboard brought Twyla out of her reverie.

Ching drew a map on the board, "...and as you can see, it is of utmost importance to know directional vocabulary when speaking. Here is the layout of the front dock. If you do not direct someone properly, they could crash into the many rock cliffs surrounding the school, here, here, and here. The very founder and principal of this institution learned this lesson all too well when he did not properly communicate with his helmsman the direction he wished to travel. Luckily for this institution, Rear Admiral Jones did crash and establish this island as his personal tanker. So while it was a critical error, it was an error that we all benefited from."

Twyla looked at the drawing and sketched it quickly, it may have been a rough sketch but it was the layout of the island which was more than they had before. There on the black board in yellow chalk was the golden opportunity they needed to escape the island and go home. Twyla gave a meaningful glance to Abbey to see if she was thinking along the same lines. Abbey sleepily gaze at Twyla, eyebrows scrunched in confusion. Twyla shook her head and opened her mouth to speak but Ching threw her scimitar. It landed with a twang right next to Twyla's writing hand.

Ching prowled towards Twyla and demanded, "Tell me Private Boogey, what happens to the jade that is not cut or polished?"

Twyla furrowed her brow in thought, "It can't be made into anything?"

Ching smirked in satisfaction as she pulled the scimitar out of the cherry wood and held it under Twyla's chin, "That's correct private, but talk in my class again and I will have you flayed in the back of class."

She turned around and continued the lesson. When the bell for class rang, everyone went to dinner then proceeded to the dorms.

Upon arrival to the dorms however, Twyla and crew encountered Freddie standing with her arms crossed in the middle of the room. Her shadow spirits tossed their things and made the room a mess.

Freddie smirked at everyone, "Why the long faces? No need to be sad about our little summer break. We are going to be spending lots of time together. Well not so much together as you'll be working _for_ me. I hope you've kept up with your studies. We'll be building my ship for my senior project. See you Sunday after breakfast chow outside on the field bright and early. Oh, and you really ought to clean this before the summer break inspection. I heard it is LT Delahaye, you know how she hates a mess. Ta~"

Freddie left the dorms cackling as Twyla and crew cleaned until sundown. As they were exhausted everyone took a shower and changed into night clothes, except for the entry controllers who changed into the school uniform.

Abbey hopped onto her top bunk and asked, "Twyla, what was look for in class?"

Twyla looked up at Abbey from her bed, "Oh yeah, I was trying to point out the map of the island."

Everyone perked up as Twyla pulled out her notebook and showed off the map. She pointed to the docks, "If we are going to be working with Freddie on building her ship then we should be close to the docks, right? Summer is the perfect time to try and escape."

Cleo, from her post as entry controller for first shift, peered around the corner, "I told you I was going to get us out of here. Now spill, how do you plan on pulling this off?"

Twyla glanced around at everyone, "I was thinking that maybe we could use the building materials Freddie will have laying around to build an escape vessel."

Blondie tilted her head, "Uhh, one problem, do you know how to build a boat?"

Twyla closed the notebook and shook her head, "Well… no but I mean, if we're going to be building Freddie's ship I figured they would teach us."

Ghoulia furrowed her brow and groaned with concern behind Cleo. Cleo moved to the side and nodded, "It is a little weird that each class would help build the senior ship. Maybe they actually like it here?"

Faybelle snorted, "What's weird is that no one has found this island. Maybe there's like, some type of magical barrier that prevents anyone on the outside from finding it."

Farrah held her pillow against her chest and hummed thoughtfully, "That does seem plausible, but that is also terrifying."

Lagoona looked over at Farrah and frowned, "Why's that terrifying, mate?"

Farrah clutched the pillow tighter, "Think about it. Mal and Faybelle are the daughters of Madam Thorn, the _queen_ of the Faye. Evie is daughter of the Evil Queen. My mother, the fairy godmother, is marquis of the Faye. All their magic combined hasn't been able to locate this island. That means someone more powerful than all of them has erected a barrier strong enough to keep everyone hidden."

Cleo frowned, "That _is_ concerning. Especially since it was here that my sister Nefera was taken. My father has an ancient cursed artifact, the all-seeing eye, and even he couldn't see Nefera's location. Whoever oversees this place must be powerful indeed. My father stared into that eye for days and his only conclusion was that Nefera had been taken to the world beyond. Yet she was here at some point. He will be livid to find that she died here."

Darling gasped, "An all-seeing eye couldn't pierce the barrier? What kind of monster runs this school?"

Frankie shook her head, "Only monster I know powerful enough to erect strong barriers would be mummies or maybe vampires but this place is way too sunny and muggy for a vampire."

Crecha waggled a finger, "This school is carved out of solid stone, if a vampire wanted to hide they could."

Cleo put her hands on her hips and scoffed, "No _vampire_ is holding a De-Nile prisoner. You forget how young vampires are in comparison to _me_. I have five thousand years' experience over any centuries old vampire."

Robecca threw her legs over the side of her bed, "Well, what kind of monster would it be?"

Cleo shook her head, "It wouldn't be a _monster_ at all. Most monsters don't _believe_ in fairy tales much less know of their existence and yet here we are, crammed together in the same dorm room. It has to be something else."

Evie nervously tugged on the string of her pajama bottoms, "Well we know that _it_ is called Captain Jones or Koda Jo or something like that."

Lagoona pursed her lips, "Whoever Captain Jones is, the teachers seem to be close to her. I don't think anyone would call their boss by their first name otherwise."

Abbey tapped her chin, "Why would vice principal of school want to hold us here?"

Robecca shrugged, "That _is_ a mystery. I honestly cannot fathom a reason for any of us to be here and the very notion of training everyone to be pirates is laughable. Why take royalty?"

Evie furrowed her brow, "Maybe we're going about this the wrong way. Maybe it's not about our heritage, but about our abilities. Think about it, we have some of _the_ most powerful families trapped on this island. If they could succeed in brainwashing us to be their puppets we could take the world by storm."

Ghoulia groaned with a shudder. Cleo flipped her hair over her shoulder, "Too true Ghoulia. If Captain Jones is strong enough to prevent this place from being detected, then she would be strong enough to take over the world on her own."

Twyla spoke up, "Maybe Captain Jones is just _old_. Like an elderly pirate that has had all her adventures but still craves more."

Darling bit the inside of her lip and nodded slowly, "That could be it. She probably didn't have children and wanted to pass on her legacy so she did what she knew best. Take what she wanted."

The door to the dorm opened and closed but no one was there. Cleo narrowed her eyes and turned towards the door, "Where have you been?"

Billy became visible holding a steaming cup of tea, "Sorry. Needed to settle my stomach."

Cleo rolled her eyes and pointed to the cup, "I hope you don't plan on leaving that up here during the night. That's how you get ants, you know."

Billy shrugged, "I wasn't planning on it, no."

Cleo scowled and pointed at Billy, "Well join the rest of us, we're having a planning meeting!"

Billy stared at Cleo, "What? What kind of plan?"

Ghoulia groaned informatively. Billy's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, "Really? We have a map of the front of the island?"

Twyla grabbed her notebook and walked over to Billy, "Of course, we were thinking of building an escape vessel."

Billy frowned, "Does everyone know how to build a boat?"

Twyla opened the notebook and pointed, "Well no, but look, that's the exit."

Billy took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Twyla…" He let the breath out, "Do you know how to navigate an escape vessel?"

Twyla closed the notebook and shook her head, "Well no but…"

Billy looked slightly irritated, "Do you know what direction home is?"

Twyla looked at the ground and shook her head, "Well no but…"

Blondie huffed, stomped over to Twyla's side and pointed at Billy, "Okay first of all Ellie, Twyla bunny was just trying to help. No need to jump down her throat about the minute details! Second of all, where the hell were you when we were coming up with the plan? Downstairs getting some tea! Don't act all high and mighty like you're better than everyone else."

Billy closed his eyes, took another sip of tea and looked down at Blondie, "Okay, never call me Ellie ever again. I know you have a thing about nicknames but really, don't. Second, I wasn't acting all high and mighty, I was merely pointing out all the things that need to be thought of. We can't escape the island on our own. We need to know where we are going, we need to know how to sail and most importantly we need a steady supply of food and water. Sailing is serious business."

Blondie folded her arms and lowered her eyes at Billy, "Alright, I get it. You and your family crossed seas and deserts or whatever to find a home. But that doesn't make you the expert here."

Billy sighed in exasperation, "Blondie… shut up."

Blondie frowned up at Billy but remained quiet. Ghoulia groaned informatively.

Billy took another sip of his tea and nodded, "Yeah that would probably be a better solution than just trying to sail."

Blondie scoffed, "Still don't speak zombie."

Darling walked over and looked at Ghoulia, "Did you say something about Freddie's ship?"

Ghoulia blinked in surprise and gurgled with delight as she nodded. Cleo turned towards Darling, "Ghoulia says you're getting much better. And she also mentioned the whole hide away on Freddie's ship thing."

Evie perked up and walked over, "What? Hide on Freddie's ship?"

Frankie's bolt sparked and she glided over, "Ghoulia says to cut out an escape hatch, we may not know how to build a ship from scratch but we can cut a hole in something that already exist and since Freddie will be sailing out once again we can sneak aboard."

Farrah let go of her pillow and stood up by her bed, "So is that the plan? While we work on the ship we make an escape hatch?"

Billy shrugged and took a sip of his tea. He furrowed his brow and hummed thoughtfully, "Sounds good enough to me. Hmm. I should have added lemon and honey. Be right back."

Cleo raised an eyebrow, "Are you in duress or are you actually talking about adding actual _honey_ to your tea?"

Billy shook his head and held up his tea, "Talking about actual honey, here."

Cleo huffed and folded her arms, "Ugh, don't throw out the word _honey_ so casually."

Twyla sighed, "We really need to come up with a better duress word, that's way too common."

Evie grinned, "We could always use _apple_."

Lagoona shook her head, "Yeah nah, still too common. It has to be something that we won't accidently use."

Frankie tapped her chin, "What if it's a combination of words? That way it will sound natural in a conversation but only we will know the sequence."

Blondie rolled her eyes, "Then that's just more we have to remember."

Faybelle snorted and crossed her arms, "That and like, it's a duress _word_ not a _sequence_."

Robecca tilted her head, "I feel as though a word sequence would be more secure. It will add to the credibility of the words, but it must be done in a way that sounds natural to the listener."

Abbey huffed, "One word. Make simple. Is _second_. No confusion with numbers. Person under duress could ask about _second_ baby or _second_ cousin or _second_ place-"

Crecha rolled her eyes, "Or how many _seconds_ are left on the clock. Let's face it, second is a stupid duress word."

Farrah wrung her hands together, "Well what about a color word? Perhaps _blue_? Blue doesn't come up in conversations that often."

Darling glanced down at her blouse, "Our uniform is blue, that really wouldn't work."

Ghoulia groaned informatively. Twyla nodded, "Ghoulia's right. Color words are equally as bad."

Evie looked at herself in her mirror and fluffed her hair, "We could always just go with _apple pie_."

Billy rolled his eyes and downed the contents of his cup. He grimaced and sighed, "Ugh, that is so gross cold. Any ways, we can decide on one later. I'm going to take this back downstairs."

He turned to leave when the handle of the door slowly turned. Everyone froze as the door swung open and in walked Delahaye.

Delahaye glanced around at everyone out of their beds and smirked, "So, last day of spring and you kiddies think you can just stay up all night and party before the summer. Cute, but foolish." She spotted the cup in Billy's hand and raised an eyebrow, "You even brought drinks up to the dorm. Well now I simply must _discipline_ you."

Delahaye's hand glowed orange and she threw out her chains. Twyla ducked into shadows to avoid being grabbed but the chains still wrapped around her waist. She fell flat and tried to grip the ground of the shadows but her nails only scraped against the smooth surface. Her back started to itch. She heard the sound of sharp objects ripping through paper. Two long black objects dangled in front of her face and she screamed. She let go of the ground and tried to scramble away from the objects but she was followed by it. Delahaye tugged the chain harder but the objects gripped the ground and stuck holding Twyla in the shadow. Twyla tried to push away but soon she realized the objects were attached to her. Delahaye yanked the chain once more and pulled Twyla into the light.

Twyla tried to catch her breath as she stared at the shadow. _What was that?_

Delahaye stomped over to Twyla with a raised eyebrow, "Girl! What is it? What was it? Why did you scream?"

Twyla covered her mouth and shook her head, "I… I don't know. It came out of my back. I think it was trying to keep me in the shadow."

Delahaye looked confused, "It came _out_ of your back? Or did it _attach_ to your back?"

Twyla frowned and looked at the ground, "…I think it came _out_ of my back…"

Delahaye rolled her eyes, "Then it belonged to you. Monsters, always growing random limbs. Now, just for that I think your punishment should be to go back in."

Delahaye turned towards everyone else, "As for the rest of you, let's do some buff birthday suit pushups. Close your eyes if you must, I don't care either way. You should have been in bed when I came up here to check on you."

Cleo glanced over at Billy on the ground next to her, "LT Delahaye. The only reason we were up was because one of our members was not feeling well. It's my fault really, I told him to get some tea to settle his stomach and of course he couldn't go alone, battle buddy system. We were all worried so we stayed up. I would be eternally grateful if you allowed us the opportunity to sleep properly."

Delahaye tapped her chin as though she was considering it, "Hmmm. Well tomorrow is the first day of summer, I could let you sleep… but I won't." Her hands glowed red and a gust of wind shredded everyone's clothes.

Cleo leaned closer to the floor to cover herself as Billy kept his eyes shut tight and pressed his face against the floor.

Delahaye smirked and turned towards a cowering Twyla, "Oh and as for you, go back into shadow. Those screams were quite lovely, I haven't heard genuine terror in a while."

She lobbed an orange orb at Twyla which forced her into shadow. Twyla screamed as the objects re-emerged behind her. She ran around and tried to get away from them but as Delahaye had mentioned they were a part of her. The objects gripped the ground and stopped Twyla in her tracks. She looked over her shoulder and gasped. Four spider-like gray limbs protruded from the small of her back. She frowned when she noticed that her new limbs didn't appear to hold a solid shape. The limbs were made of shadow. She took a few steps forward and the limbs curled under naturally allowing her to walk. She nodded and jogged around the shadow. The limbs remained in place.

She let out a breath and was about to leave the shadow when the limbs spread out and scaled a wall. Once on a high part of the wall one of the limbs pulled a thread of silk webbing out of her belly button. Twyla watched fascinated as the limbs spun a web. When her secondary limbs finished, she reached for the web, curious about how it would feel. The moment her primary hands touched the web however, the strands turned to light purple nightmare sand and fell to the ground. Twyla blinked at the sand as her shadow limbs moved to repair the web. _Looks like I got both my mom and my dad's abilities._

Twyla tired of being in a web pulled at it with her primary hands tearing it apart. As she fell towards the ground her secondary limbs gripped the web and Twyla was left hanging upside down dangling from a string. Twyla blew her hair out of her face and spun around slowly. _How do I control these?_ She spotted Delahaye's chain rushing towards her and smiled gratefully as she was dragged out of the shadow. Twyla's shadow limbs scrambled to keep her in the shadow but the chain pulled her out.

Delahaye had yanked the chain cord a little too hard however, thus when Twyla was pulled out of shadow she was thrown bodily into a highly irritated Blondie.

Twyla pushed off Blondie and scrambled away.

Blondie grimaced as she wiped her face and shook her head, "I've officially seen too much of you Twyla. TOO MUCH."

Delahaye chuckled and stalked closer to Blondie and Twyla, "Indeed and since you appear to be highly energetic perhaps you could keep your friend company as she does her pushups."

Blondie rolled her eyes and got back in the push up position, "Of course, why not."

Twyla got in the pushup position and awaited further instruction from Delahaye.

Delahaye huffed and walked away, "All of you are so boring. It's only fun when you cry and scream. Go to bed. All of you." She stomped out of the room and slammed the door behind her.

Cleo picked up her shredded clothing and sighed, "And now I'll need another uniform. Hopefully she won't come back tonight."

Billy went invisible and sighed, "I hope not. I don't know how much more of this I can take."

Abbey huffed and stomped towards the bed bay, "That is why plan must work. Come comrades. More details now mean less stress later."


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which are trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Sixteen:

A Woodchuck's Job

First light of Saturday, June eleventh had Twyla on high alert. She knew the lieutenants wouldn't be around but the ever-unpredictable Freddie was another story. Twyla was one hundred percent sure Freddie would kick in the dorm door and make everyone miserable to kick off the summer. She watched for Freddie as they went down to breakfast, she watched for Freddie as they as did their morning chores. She even watched for Freddie as everyone scanned through their school books for additional escape information.

Lagoona placed her hand on Twyla's shoulder and she jumped into the shadow under the bed.

"Uh, Twyla are you okay?" Lagoona inquired.

Twyla emerged from the shadow and sat down in front of her books, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just…fine."

Lagoona raised an eyebrow, "Oh right, you're fine mate, that definitely explains that whole run and hide bit you did there."

Farrah looked at Twyla with a smile as she put her hands together, "It might make you feel better if you tell your friends. We _are_ in this together after all."

Twyla looked up at everyone's bright and encouraging faces and felt a tug of a smile pull at the corner of her lips, "Thanks, yeah, I can't help but feel like this summer is going to be awful. We'll be working directly with the seniors. And yeah, on the one hand we can totally make our escape hatch in their ship and that will be great but on the other hand…that is a full ninety-one days of Freddie filled summer." She shuddered, "No telling what she will have planned."

Cleo waved her hand dismissively, "While that Freddie may indeed be evil…" She put her hand to her chest and glanced around expectantly, " _I_ fully intend on leaving this nightmare and getting back to the dream life that I deserve. And _I_ need all of _you_ to do it. We need each other. So don't be afraid." She rose off the bed, leaned back, clenched her hands into fist and held them out in front of her, "We _will_ be triumphant and no looney bin want to be pirate will stop a De-Nile from achieving her goals."

Ghoulia groaned with admiration. Cleo smiled down at Ghoulia, "Thank you Ghoulia, I know."

Cleo then looked down at Twyla, her bright smile crinkled around the bright blue revival gem embedded in her cheek under her right eye.

Twyla blinked, leaned away and cringe-smiled, "Ah, thanks I guess, for needing me."

Cleo put her hands on her hips and leaned forward "You are very welcome."

Darling covered her mouth and giggled, "What I think Cleo was _trying_ to say was that we are in this together, so don't be afraid to talk to us about what's bothering you. You might even feel better when you do."

Abbey added, "Yes, talk. It stings that you think you can't."

Twyla nodded, "Thanks guys."

The door to the dorm rattled as someone knocked. Billy, invisible, went to answer it.

A confused Melody walked through the open door and into the bed bay. She looked around the room and dryly mumbled, "Oh goody, everyone is here, makes one part of my life easier."

She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and read from it in a dry bored voice, "Dear Privates, your new ruler and overlord Corporal Facilier would like to inform you that your service will be required during the summer months for all of the following events-"

"Yes, we understand. thank you, we'll be there. Now tell me, how are _you_ doing?" Cleo took the paper,

Melody's eyes went wide as she snatched the paper back, held it close to her chest and fearfully shouted, "NO! No, I must read it, if I don't…" All the color drained from Melody's face as she lowered her head and trembled.

Cleo leaned back as she looked Melody over, and spoke softly, holding out her hands passively as though calming a frightened animal, "Melody, was it? What exactly is Fr- uh that girl, doing to you? You are safe here, you can talk."

Everyone stood up and stepped closer. Melody slowly backed away from them. Once her back hit the wall, she bit her lip, dropped the paper, and backed into the corner. Her eyes darted back and forth as she demanded, "What do you want from me!" Her chest's movement was visible as she panted.

Billy became visible and pulled everyone aside to make a path, "Guys give her some space."

Melody's brown eyes fixed upon him. The color began to rise to her cheeks and her eyes widened as she stepped away from the wall. She stalked towards Billy with both hands up, her fingers splayed and her shoulders hunched up, "You. If it's you, you could do it." She let out a dry desperate laugh.

Billy's back became rigid as he gazed down at her, "What are you talking about?"

Melody tentatively poked his chest with her middle finger. Her tone rose as each word escaped her lips in a desperate whisper, "You could kill Freddie. She wouldn't see you coming. You could do it. You could save us all."

Billy jerked his head back, reeling from the proposal. He slowly reached up and held Melody by the shoulders. Her breathing slowed but remained heavy as he looked at her with pity, "Melody…I can't…"  
Melody jabbed her finger into his chest and chipped a burgundy nail. Tears swelled up in her eyes as she stared up at him, "If you do nothing…" She shook her head furiously and closed her eyes as tears spilled. She took a raspy breath and reopened her eyes as she jabbed his chest to emphasize her words, "If you do nothing, the blood of her next victim will be on your hands."

He sighed and grabbed her hand, "Melody-"

She snatched her hand away and pushed off his chest shaking her head as she edged towards the door, "You've seen it with your own eyes, you know what she has _done_. To all of us, not just me. You know what she is capable of. You must do it, do it for those who can't. As an invisible man, it's practically your _job_ to do the one thing no one else can do. If you actually cared you would do it to save me, save _us._ Who will be counted as her next victim, and how bad will it be? Could you really live with yourself knowing you could have prevented it?"

His mouth hung open as if he was about to speak but then he just let out a breath as Melody stomped out of the room. Everyone stood staring at the open door in shock.

Billy trembled as he closed the door. His hand lingered on the frame as he rested his head on his arm. "I…I can't kill Freddie. That's the right thing to do, right? Not kill her?"

Abbey crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, "Of course it right thing to do. We _monsters,_ not murderers."

Darling walked over and placed her hand on Billy's shoulder, "Killing someone is never an option. There is always an alternate way of solving an issue."

Twyla stood behind Darling and added, "Yeah we just have to figure out where in the world we are and get away from this place. I'm confident that a rescue party has been dispatched after all these months. I know my dad won't stop searching the shadows until I'm found, guaranteed. Besides what Melody was suggesting, stabbing Freddie when she couldn't see you, it wouldn't work. Freddie's shadow minions detect all shadows including yours and she would see you coming from a mile away."

Farrah stood behind Twyla with her hands clasped close to her chest, "Not that we are suggesting you _try_ heaven forbid, no. Freddie is the public humiliation type, if you tried to kill her and failed, it would end worse for all of us. I feel for Melody; I really do but there is just no way we can kill a girl because we don't like her."

Billy turned his face towards Darling, "So what _can_ I do?"

Ghoulia groaned informatively. Frankie's bolts sparked and her eyes widened, "Of course Ghoulia. You're so smart. If we can get Spectra to give us the senior ship's blue prints we can coordinate an escape for Spectra, Duchess and Melody."

Crecha nodded in agreement, "That way that crazy Freddie can live out her dream as a pirate-"

"-and everyone else can go free. Voltageous!" Frankie concluded.

Faybelle crossed her arms and leaned her weight on one leg, "Ugh, why would you _not_ kill her? At the very least we could curse her."

Cleo flipped her hair, "I'm inclined to agree with Faybelle. Freddie has demonstrated an exorbitant amount of evidence in favor of her execution. To leave her alive would be a danger to the _public_. Now that we have been charged as her executioners we are duty bound to complete the task."

Darling removed her hand from Billy's shoulder to turn and face Cleo, "No one assigned us the _job_ of executioner, Cleo. Melody is in a desperate place, she made a desperate plea. As her _friends,_ it is our job to help her in any way we can while still maintaining basic standards of humanity. Billy isn't going to kill Freddie and that is final."

Twyla looked between Cleo and Darling, "Ah yeah, you guys are forgetting the whole, impossible to do thing. Freddie's shadow spirits…hello. I guess, I'm talking to myself."

Cleo put her hands on her hips and glared at Darling, "Billy has an ability that no one here has-"

"Yes, I hear you _girl_!" She snapped at Twyla. Cleo turned back to Darling, "Point is, if we put our heads together, I am sure we can figure out a way to combat Freddie's shadow spirits and with them out of the way Billy can _deliver_ the instrument of her destruction. It's a simple task really and with Freddie out of the way escaping this island will be a breeze."

Darling scoffed as she put her hands on her hips, and leaned her weight on one foot, "Is that how you rule your kingdom? Delegating tempestuous task while resting on your throne of gold? I would hate to be a subject under your iron fist rulership."

Cleo growled and narrowed her eyes.

Evie held her arms out and stepped between Darling and Cleo, "Whoa, now now. No need to insult kingdoms here. Besides, Billy probably can't do it any way, he totally left."

Everyone turned around to see the door open. Darling sighed and turned around, "Evie, did you see where he went?"

Evie pulled out her hand mirror and touched up her makeup, "Ah, no. Billy's pretty invisible you know. Duh-zees."

Blondie looked at Evie's mirror, "Ah, Evie. This moment isn't exactly just right for preening, perhaps you could do something more helpful like tell us _when_ you saw the door open."

Evie pursed her lips as she swept her hair out of her face and snapped the mirror shut. "Fine. But just so you know, there is never a moment when checking myself in a mirror is inappropriate. Billy disappeared sometime around the whole _kill Freddie_ speech."

Robecca tilted her head and drummed her chin with her fingers, "Let's see, according to my internal clock that was five hours ago. Oh, I do believe my internal clock has taken damage. Ghoulia, I do so hate to trouble you but if you have time may you take a look?"

Ghoulia groaned nonchalantly and shuffled towards her. Crecha walked over with her bolts sparking, "Do you need a charge?"

Robecca bowed, "Oh if it's not too much trouble I would greatly appreciate it." Abbey huffed and walked out the door.

Lagoona turned and asked, "Abbey, where are you going?"

Abbey pivoted on one foot and looked over her shoulder, "Friend in need. Chatting get us nowhere, I'll go find him. Be right back." She continued down the hall.

Darling furrowed her brow, "How exactly, does Abbey plan to find Billy when he's _invisible_?" Lagoona shrugged.

Farrah pulled out her wand, "Well, I know how we can find him but my magic isn't as strong as yours Faybelle, if you could lend me a hand?"

Faybelle raised an eyebrow, "Ah, nooo. Goodfairy, divine search and rescue spells are part of _your_ royal heritage. My specialty is sleeping enchantments; you should know better."

Farrah lowered her head as her feet turned inward. She clutched her wand to her chest as she muttered, "Oh, how right you are. Of course, umm, alright well here I go. Follow me everyone."

Cleo snorted and picked up the paper Melody had dropped. "I'm staying right here; _someone_ needs to know that Freddie's schedule or else bad things really will happen to Melody." She turned to go sit on a bed.

Darling glanced around, "Will you help me in my search for Billy?"

Twyla gestured towards the door, "Yeah let's go."

Lagoona nodded. "If we hurry we can catch up to Abbey. Make the search a bit easier."

Robecca's chest hatch screeched open, Ghoulia covered her ears and groaned in irritation. Robecca smiled apologetically, "Sorry. It would appear that I am in need of a really good tune up. While you all are out do you mind picking up a can of oil from the supply store downstairs?"

Lagoona waved a webbed hand at Robecca, "Of course mate, no worries. See you later."

Farrah, Darling, Twyla, and Lagoona left the dorm in search of Billy. The search took up the remainder of the day and while they were successful in catching up to Abbey, they were unable to find Billy. Frustrated they went to the supply store and acquired a can of oil for Robecca before returning to their dorm. They gave the oil to Ghoulia and discussed at length all the places an invisible man could hide. Realizing it was too numerous to count Twyla assessed that it would be best to wait until Billy returned of his own accord.

The next day, Twyla crawled out from under the bed and looked up at Billy's bunk. She noted the lack of a blanket as she hopped up to the second bunk and reached out. She felt the rise and fall of Billy's chest and with a smile gently shook him. She heard Billy yawn and felt a push against her knees as he rolled over. She tried to regain her balance but fell off the bed and landed on the floor with a thud. "Ow."

Darling sat up in her bed, "Are you okay?"

Twyla stood up as she massaged her sore tail bone. She jerked her head towards Billy's bunk with a sigh, "Yeah, found Billy. He's sleeping."

Darling leapt out of bed, gazed up in Billy's direction and called to him in a sweet sing-song tone, "Billy. Billy. Billy~"

Billy became visible and looked down. When he spotted Darling he smiled and rested his cheek in his palm, "Oh hey, Darling. Morning."

Darling smiled behind her hand as she balanced her arm with the other, "Morning. We searched all over for you yesterday, you know."

Twyla gazed up at him, "Yeah, when did you get back and where did you get to exactly?

Billy slid out of bed and onto the floor with his gaze fixed upon Darling, "Sorry, I needed to disappear for a while, clear my head you know."

Twyla raised an eyebrow, "Uh huh, and you couldn't have told us where you were going? When we say we searched all day, that literally means all day."

Billy finally glanced at Twyla as he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "If you really want to know, I sat in the latrine stall downstairs. Only place I can really have all to myself."

Abbey slid off her top bunk and stood right next to Billy. Practically eye level, she reached out a large hand and gripped his face to pull him close, "You want time alone, you ask permission. We on battle buddy system here, never go anywhere without comrade in arms. If you died, we would only find corpse. What say you to that, huh!"

Billy removed Abbey's muscular hand from his face, "Sorry Abbey, didn't mean to worry you."

Abbey huffed and clenched her hand into a fist, forming a block of ice around Billy's hand. He let go of her and made a fist to shake off the ice.

Others in the room rose from bed and greeted him. Farrah squealed with joy as she ran over and hugged him, "Oh thank goodness. I knew my spell was too weak but I had to try. Sorry I didn't find you but I'm so glad you're okay."

Billy held his arms up and looked down at Farrah as she nuzzled his chest.

Faybelle leaned against a bed railing as looked at Billy and smirked, "So, did you like, run away to build up your courage or are you going to disappoint me?" Darling turned and glared at Faybelle.

Billy's shoulders tensed as he grabbed Farrah by the arms and pulled her away. "Let's just get dressed and go eat. We have to meet the seniors outside, right? Probably going to be doing a lot of work." He walked towards the latrine while Faybelle snickered.

Farrah sighed and clasped her hands together over her heart. Darling stared at Farrah with a raised elegant brow. Farrah caught Darling's gaze and blinked owlishly before she bowed her head low and walked backwards towards her trunk. Twyla shook her head and went to get dressed herself.

Everyone dressed and ate breakfast quickly in order to report in to Freddie at her allotted time. When Twyla and crew arrived, Freddie was prowling around the other classes giving instructions.

Cleo gasped as she pointed to a wide-nosed girl in the sophomore class. "Petra, my sister is here."

Twyla shielded her eyes with her hand and noted that Petra did bear a striking resemblance to Cleo except with jet-black hair, a sapphire revival gem in her cheek and eyes like jasper.

Evie jogged out and ran to a dark-haired girl in the junior class shouting, "Hey Raven! How have you been?"

Raven, a junior with midnight-ruby hair, turned and stared slack-jawed when she spotted Evie. Twyla cringed as Evie ran past Freddie.

Freddie seemed taken back but then she quickly regained her composure. "Ahem. Evie. Private Queen, get back with your class, I'll deal with you in a minute."

Evie turned around and pouted making her best puppy dog face, "Oh Freddie, er… Corporal Facilier, I haven't seen my sister in ages. May I please catch up with her, just for a little while. Please."

Freddie smacked her face with her hand, shook her head, and rubbed her temple, "Ugh, Evie no. Seriously? With the puppy eyes? Ugh, you're just as bad as Carlos."

Evie clasped her hands together and tilted her head, "Please?"

Freddie sighed, "Ughhhh, _fine,_ you have five minutes."

Evie grinned from ear to ear and ran over to chat with her older sister, Raven.

Freddie turned around and glared daggers at everyone almost daring them to say something. Twyla just stood there in shock. _Freddie has a heart? She has a human heart capable of sympathy? No this has to be a fluke, a one-time thing, like that one time she was too tired to torture us. That must be it. No way a murdering psycho like Freddie has a heart._

Shadow spirits dropped axes in everyone's hands. Twyla looked down at the heavy axe in her hands. There was no way she was going to be able to lift it, much less swing it and chop a tree.

Freddie pointed to the forest, "First order of business is construction. We have all the raw materials right here in this forest, you little grubs have the luxury of going into the Blood Forest and bringing me the best trees for my ship. Avoid the rotting ones and avoid the young ones. I had your lovely junior class here go through to mark all the good ones, all you have to do is chop. Since there are so many of you I expect a total of 210 trees cut by the end of the day."

Ghoulia groaned in shock. Crecha looked at Ghoulia, "What? The average for one professional lumberjack is five? Wait…that means 210 is impossible!"

Faybelle threw her axe on the ground and rolled up her sleeves, "Looks like it's time for dem-o-li-tion magic."

A shadow spirit smacked Faybelle upside the head. Freddie waggled a finger at Faybelle, "Nu uh huh, no magic little one. These trees are _magic_ resistant you're going to have to cut them by hand."

Faybelle's whole body slumped forward and her mouth hung open with shock.

Cleo threw her axe down as she clawed at the air and screeched, "Cut by _hand!_ You want me to do manual labor? Ahhhh."

Freddie snapped her fingers with a smirk, "Sorry queenie, those with the power make the rules and I'm the one with all the power here."

The shadow spirits picked up the axes and chased them. Twyla grit her teeth the sharp grass sliced her legs. _I'll be fine, just endure the torment. It won't last forever. All I have to do today is cut the trees for the ship. Once its built, we make our escape hatch with a door long enough to cast a great shadow, sail out to sea and my dad will rescue us from this nightmare. All I need to do is survive another few months of Freddie. Then once they go out to sea to test the ship, because they have to have a maiden voyage, I'll sneak aboard. There my dad will be to save the day, punish Freddie for her abuse of the shadows, rescue everyone else and take me home back to my life._


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which are trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Seventeen:

Blades of the Neverglade

The long blades of grass stung, leaving swollen slice marks all along her calves. Twyla spotted a tree marked for cutting and stopped in front of it. She peered down at her legs. She was surprised at the lack of blood but she shrugged and readied herself to lift the axe. She planted her feet and took a golfer's stance as threw all of her weight into her swing. The axe lightly chipped the bark of the tree and Twyla sighed. It was going to be a long day.

A few hours into the day, the scorching summer sun pierced through every gap in the trees and fried her face. She could feel blisters forming behind her ears as she swung at the tree. She was drenched in sweat and yet she had barely made a dent in the tree she was chopping. She dropped the axe on the ground and turned to go to a grab a cup of water from the watering station. Twyla bumped into Billy and the rest of her class along the way.

Freddie sat in the shade of a shadow umbrella beside the station. A girl with rose gold hair sat at her feet while holding a bowl of fruit. She cast forest green eyes towards them and shook her head slightly in warning as they approached. Freddie leaned forward in her chair and stabbed her knife down into the table, "What do you think you are doing?"

Blondie, hair plastered to her face, huffed, "We're getting water!"

Freddie shook her head as she leaned back, "Not until you meet my quota. That pile of trees over there looks mighty empty for folks chopping trees all morning. Hell, you don't even look like you've been working that hard." She snapped her fingers and opened her mouth, "Apple."

Apple White, the girl at her feet, shed a tear as she popped a grape into Freddie's mouth.

Evie wrung out the bottom of her sweat soaked shirt as she whined to Freddie, "Seriously Freddie, I need to cool down. See, I have a serious case of diaphoresis going on and I am in desperate need of some dihydrogen oxide. Please, Freddie, pretty please please pleaaase."

Freddie tapped her chin in mock contemplation, "And how would you benefit me if I allowed such a thing."

Apple shook her head fervently, her pale cheeks tinted rose red from the heat. Freddie laughed as she patted her head, "Perhaps you'd like to take her place, she's the princess of your story after all and only the fairest can serve me."

Evie leaned back as shadow spirits forced her into a kneeling position at Freddie's feet, "I…"

Freddie tilted her head, "As for the rest of you, get back to work." Evie glanced over her shoulder with wide pleading eyes.

Spectra squared her shoulders and set her jaw as she floated over, "Freddie, what you are asking for is impossible. No one can work under those conditions. A, you know good and well magic totally works in the forest and your quota could totally be met if you would allow them use of it and B-"

Twyla never got to hear what B was because a small shadow box devoured Spectra mid-air.

The sound of a slow unsteady drum and a sharp violin emanated from the box as Freddie caught it with one hand and held it close to her mouth. "Never question my authority in front of the underlings, Spectra. You should know better than that by now." She slowly turned her head, "Get back to work and no magic, only way you're getting water is if I see you _sweating_ blood."

Melody gave Billy a pointed look, Billy avoided her gaze.

Freddie set the box on the table and reached down to grab a cup. With her hand on the nozzle she filled it with water from the cooler that was closest to her. Ice slammed into Freddie, freezing her in position.

Abbey huffed with outstretched hand, "Power has melted her brain. I help."

Evie took Apple by the hand and stood up, "Are you okay?"

Apple pulled Evie towards the forest, "You don't know what you just agreed to, hurry lets hide!"

Darling furrowed her brow as the two scurried away, "Where will they go?"

Blondie ran up to the second water cooler and filled the cups, "Away obviously." She chugged a cup of water, "Come on Charming, we're not fair enough to catch a work break."

Everyone rushed over to the cups and drank their fill. Freddie's shadow spirits snickered to themselves as they drank.

Twyla stared at the spirits as she stood in line. Their laughter gave her pause. She filled her cup with water and peered into it. She saw a swirling sinister shadow smirk before it dissipated in her cup. She dropped it and yelled, "Don't drink it, she poisoned it with something."

But it was too late, in unison her classmates dropped their cups and slumped over as if sleeping where they stood. Their limbs twisted and turned abruptly as they marched back into the forest with their heads lolling to the side. Twyla grimaced as they cut themselves on every branch, tree and sharp blade of grass they passed.

Robecca turned to look at Twyla, "What do you suppose we do?"

Ice cracked and shattered behind Twyla and a hand gripped her skull.

Freddie yanked her head, "Clever little Orchid, you even think like me sometimes. Shame you refused to learn from me. Oh well, you can still serve me. How about you get back to work?"

Twyla stared up at Freddie's sinister smile and squeaked out, "Okay."

Freddie kissed Twyla's cheek then glanced at Robecca sideways, "Hey robot, do you bleed?"

Robecca tilted her head, "Not in the traditional sense, no. But if you want to get technical then I suppose the steam that pumps through my system could be considered blood. Or perhaps my lubrication fluid would be akin to a blood like substance."

Freddie let go of Twyla's hair and pushed her aside as she hopped over the table and stalked dangerously close to Robecca, "Steam you say?"

Robecca nodded as she took a step backwards, "Why yes, I'm an electricity generating steam powered kind of ghoul."

Freddie nodded and snapped her fingers; her shadow spirits pulled a sledge hammer out of one of their mouths and handed it to her. She smiled as she lifted the hammer, "And how much force would have to be applied to make you _burst_ a pipe?"

Robecca backed up as Freddie stepped closer, "Ah, Corporal Facilier, I must insist that we not test the amount of force my body can take, I don't think this school has a mechanic."

Freddie grinned, "Oh but _I'm_ going to insist that we do."

Steam gushed out of Robecca's boots as she rocketed straight up into the air.

Freddie's face fell, "Aw dammit, she can fly. Oh no no no no no no."

She ran and chucked the sledge hammer at Robecca, it missed. Freddie snapped her fingers, shadow spirits rushed to the hammer and with one mighty swing smacked Robecca down, plummeting head first into the forest.

Twyla sprinted into the forest trying to reach Robecca's location before the shadow spirits. Her face was hot and her mouth was dry as she pushed hot air out of her lungs, pumping her legs faster and faster towards her goal. Sickly dark trees curled close together almost as though purposefully hindering her. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth as she pushed through a thick patch of vines.

A beam of sunlight through the canopy directed her to Robecca hanging upside down in a tree with oil, water and other lubricants leaking out of the break in her arm. Robecca weakly called out, "Pardon me, I'm afraid I might…have…to…shut…down."

Twyla stopped in front of Robecca and picked up a chunk of arm, a few tubes and several nuts. She noticed that although Robecca was leaking a large amount of fluid her backup generator was still whirring. She sighed with relief as she pocketed what she could and scaled the tree. Once on the branch she tried to push Robecca, but like the axe Robecca was just too heavy for Twyla to move. Twyla sat back and looked up just as shadow spirits swarmed under the tree. She curled into a tight ball on the branch and held her breath.

Freddie entered the clearing and smiled in satisfaction as she watched the grass absorb the fluid, "Well boys, my job is complete. Think I should let these fools use magic now?"

The spirits pulled out a hamster wheel and spun it. Freddie chuckled, "You know, that's not a bad idea. No magic it is then. Come on, let's pull your friends out of those freshmen and put them back to work." As she turned on her heel, she held up a finger, "Oh, and remind me to punish that yeti woman for freezing my head."

The spirits cackled around Freddie as they walked further away. Twyla fixed her gaze ahead but her world swirled around. She closed her eyes and her stomach twist and with a lurch she hurled what little contents of her stomach she had onto the ground below. Exhausted she lay her head upon the branch as her stomach and leg muscles seized, her heartbeat rapidly pounded in her ears and her vision darkened.

Cool droplets dripped onto her face, Twyla opened her eyes to see the bottom of the infirmary bed and a small rain cloud above her head. She glanced around and spotted LT Montoya darting back and forth between partitions.

Montoya peered into Twyla's partition and walked over as Twyla crawled from underneath the bed. Montoya assisted Twyla on top of the bed and poured a cup of water. "Sip this slowly."

Twyla did as instructed, noting that the warm glow surrounding Montoya dimmed the longer she stood still.

Montoya refilled the cup and handed it to her. "Can you manage this; I need to check on the others."

Twyla nodded as Montoya walked away and spoke to someone on the other side of the partition. "Lance Corporal Cheshire, is that everyone?"

A high-pitched girl's voice responded, "Yes LT Montoya, that's everyone."

Montoya replied, "Good, now go and retrieve Corporal Facilier."

A quiet meow was heard and LT Montoya turned and attended other patients.

After a while, the door to the infirmary opened. The dual sound of stiletto heels and clunky boots announced their presence. Twyla saw Montoya's head over the top of her partition as Montoya weaved her way towards the front.

Montoya greeted the visitors. "Corporal Facilier- Delahaye? What are you doing here?"

Delahaye's sultry voice cooed, "I just came here to defend Corporal Facilier's actions. You had her summoned and I figured you must have thought she did something wrong."

Montoya looked down her nose, "Oh? So, are you here to tell me that an infirmary full of dying students is somehow a _good_ thing?"

Delahaye sucked her teeth, "If you had seen the deplorable way these students treated their superiors you would fully support Facilier's discipline methods."

Montoya crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, "Starving children is never the appropriate disciplinary action. You should know this by now, didn't your last _pet_ die for the very same reason."

"It's not the same at all! Montoya, really, why bring that up, he had it coming. He bit my lip on purpose, honestly you would have starved him too."

Montoya rolled her eyes, "I would not have _had_ a pet but don't veer off topic. If your newest _favorite_ Facilier sends a whole class to my infirmary again, I will remind you of why they used to call me _Escopeta Asesina_."

Delahaye chuckled as she created a red glow that could be seen over the partition, "No promises. Besides that little title was a one-time thing, don't let it go to your head. Everyone knows your true calling is as the _Radiant Healer_. I call your bluff, so just sit back in your office and heal when your told. Things will go well for you that way."

Montoya smacked her lips, "Fine, no need to become _The Red Haze_ in my infirmary. The freshman class are your responsibility, I will defer to your judgement in regard to their treatment. But just so we are clear when you are in my infirmary you will defer to my judgement. And I say you need to leave, _now_."

Delahaye's stiletto boots clicked towards the door, followed shortly by Freddie's clunky stomps. Twyla decided that she preferred Montoya's protection to the cold reality of Freddie and curled into the shadow of her infirmary bed.

Next morning Twyla emerged from underneath the bed eliciting a shocked squeal from Montoya.

Montoya placed a hand over her heart, "Well that is something you don't see every day. Do you naturally shy away from light or is your family just cursed with shadows pulling them under things?"

Twyla furrowed her brow, "LT Montoya, until you asked me that I never really noticed, I guess it must just naturally occur."

Montoya nodded, "Uh huh. Well good to know. I was suspicious so I'm glad I kept you on this side of the infirmary, saved myself some heartache for later. Never can tell with monsters. Next time you're in here I'll put up some shades around your bed."

Twyla frowned, "Next time?"

Montoya shrugged, "Your summer has just begun. Grab a web belt and canteen from the basket by the door on your way out. Make sure you drink plenty of fluids before you go outside. Also, when you go into the chow hall, ask Ensign Cookie for those box nasties. I mean box lunches. _Bag lunches_ , ask her about the bag lunches. And here."

Montoya handed Twyla a stack of small papers. "Hand those out to your classmates. Those are written medical notes from me. Now don't show those to Facilier just carry it on you at all times. If she tries to use her voodoo on you today it will leave a bad _taste_ in her mouth." She chuckled quietly, " _Doctors_ orders. Go on now, get yourself something to eat."

Twyla flipped the papers over as she walked towards the door. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary but she knew it was special so she pocketed it. Everyone in her class except for Ghoulia and Robecca were already standing outside the infirmary. Twyla figured Robecca would take a while to repair and Ghoulia was the only one among them smart enough to do the repair work.

Once inside the chow hall Twyla did as Montoya had instructed and asked Ensign Cookie for the bag lunches. Upon receiving the twelve aforementioned bags, Twyla could clearly see why Montoya called them box nasties. The brown paper bag dripped a strange and noxious yellow substance, with sides so covered in grease it was translucent. The inside held a small box that contained, what Twyla could only assume, was supposed to be a lunch.

Lagoona leaned away from Twyla as she handed her the bag, "Uh thanks mate, but this isn't the right kind of moisturizer scream. Definitely need something a little less _greasy_."

Twyla continued passing out the bags, "Well, LT Montoya said to ask for these, doctor's orders."

Blondie scrunched her face disapprovingly, "Oh this meal is much too greasy and much too smelly. Ugh, I wonder if they have anything back there that would be-"

Twyla lowered her eyes, "Just right?"

Blondie blinked, "Well I was going to say lightweight and healthy but yes, just right."

Evie tied the bag to her belt, "I just hope Freddie isn't in another one of her moods again."

Darling narrowed her eyes, "Did she catch you?"

Evie shook her head, "No, but from what Apple told me…" She lowered her gaze, "I shouldn't try to bargain with Freddie. I won't like the price."

Darling pinched her lips together but remained silent.

Once everyone had attached their bag lunch to the canteen strap and filled their canteens with water. They stuffed Montoya's note into their pockets and set off towards the blood forest. Where the rest of the school awaited.

Freddie stood with her hands on her hips tapping her foot. "What took you fools so long? Not only did you fail to meet my quota yesterday but I also had to order you be carried to the infirmary which means I had less people to do work. And now y'all come strolling out here as casual as you please carrying box nasties! Ugh, you scrubs are going to make up that time today. You're going to finish yesterday's work load and complete today's quota as well. Get to work." She pointed to the axes.

Twyla and crew groaned and grabbed them. Just as Twyla stepped into the forest she recalled what Spectra had said. She jogged up to Cleo, "Hey, remember what Spectra said yesterday? The forest doesn't absorb magic."

Cleo's eyes brightened and she tossed the axe aside. "Of course, how could I forget our dear friend Spectra." She raised her arms and splayed out her fingers. Two hands made of light projected above her head, "These trees are as good as cut." Her _pharaoh_ 's hands stiffened and karate chopped the trees in front of her, sending the trees flying forward.

Faybelle flew out of the way screaming, "Hey! You almost hit me." She gazed at the golden hands hovering above Cleo, "Oh! Magic, well if that's the case."

Faybelle's hands glowed red and a gush of cutting wind cut the through the trunks of several trees. The trees slowly fell over. One of the trees was dark and thin.

When it rolled over dark blood streamed out of the stump just as Freddie and her shadow spirits came to investigate the noise. "What is going on here? Huh!"

Freddie snapped her fingers, several shadow spirits flew to the downed tree and placed it back on the stump, a sickly dark vine sprouted from the ground re-absorbing the blood and pumping the blood back into the tree. She glared at them, "This is why I said not to use magic. Your spells don't discriminate between marked and unmarked trees."

Cleo looked at her nails, the pharaoh's hands mimicking her hand movements, "Pah-lease, I am always in control of my powers and besides clearly you fixed the problem and look, we've already cut twelve trees. We'll meet your impossible quota in no time."

Freddie drew a dagger and pointed it at Cleo, "This is the _Blood Forest_ , the saplings feed off your blood and unless you want me to drain your veins, I strongly suggest you chop trees manually."

Cleo flipped her hair, the pharaoh's hands floating above her like a crown, "Oh of course, I'll get right on that _manual_ thing."

Freddie threw the knife at Cleo, slicing Cleo's arm, but when the dagger touched the palm of the pharaoh's hand it evaporated. Cleo narrowed her eyes at the spot. Farrah behind Cleo screamed at the sight of Cleo's black sand blood.

Freddie stepped forward with awe struck wonder. "Spring?"

Farrah furrowed her brow in confusion, "I'm sorry I…what?"

Freddie slowly stalked closer, "Can you _sing_ for me, one more time?"

Farrah fervently shook her head, "Oh no, no, I wasn't singing, I can't sing. I have a terrible voice."

Freddie chuckled and put her hands on her hip, "Oh my little Spring, I'm know you can sing just fine."

Faybelle glanced between the two, "Uh hello, her name is Farrah not Spring what are you going on about?"

Freddie blinked, then lowered her eyes and snapped her fingers. The shadow spirits swarmed the down logs to carry it out of the forest as she growled, "Cut down the marked trees and _only_ the marked trees. I expect my quota to be met by the end of the day or you will be feeding the saplings."

Twyla put her hand on Farrah's shoulder when Freddie was out of view, "Hey Farrah are you okay?"

Farrah clutched her hands to her chest, "I'm fine. I think, not so sure what Freddie was going on about."

Twyla shrugged, "Me either, and she's called me another name before too. I think it was Orchid or something."

Cleo put a hand on her hip then gestured towards the rest of the forest and scoffed, "It just means that girl is weird is all. The more important thing to note is the marked trees, do you see any more in this area?"

Twyla looked around, this part of the forest was mostly sickly thin dark saplings. With a sigh she turned to Cleo, "Lead the way."

Cleo flipped her hair and walked forward, the pharaoh's hands lighting the way, "I always do."

Twyla and crew chopped trees well into high noon, proceeding further and further into the forest. While they had completed the 210-tree quota from the day before, they had yet to find and chop the 210 for today. Twyla downed the remainder of her canteen. The contents were hot and tasted of plastic but it was better than not having water at all. She sighed as she went to lean back against a tree only to lean against an already leaning Billy.

Billy became visible and looked down at Twyla, "Sorry, it's just so hot you know."

Twyla turned around and peered up at him, "Yeah, but don't you think it's kind of dangerous to be invisible when chopping trees? What if someone goes to cut a tree where you're standing?"

Billy chuckled dryly, "Yeah, it's hard concentrating on being visible when I'm focusing on other things as well. I'm a one task at a time kind of guy."

Twyla nodded, "Hmmm, have you seen any marked trees around here?"

Billy shook his head and pushed his long bangs out of his face, "No but Faybelle flew over the canopy a little while ago. Hopefully she'll come back with some news."

Faybelle fluttered down beside Abbey and fanned herself with her hand, "It is like, a thousand degrees outside and like, it's so humid I swear I'm flying through a bowl of soup. I think I like, literally died when I flew around up there."

Abbey raised an eyebrow at Faybelle, "I am thinking that word not mean what you think it mean."

Faybelle whined and pointed to herself as she stomped her feet, "Shut it~ I died. So dead, completely dead. Look at my hair. Dead."

Billy gave Twyla a smirk as he shook his head. He turned and asked, "So Faybelle, did you find more marked trees or were you too dead?"

Faybelle pouted, "You guys are jerks, I worked my wings off for you and I can't even get a little sympathy? Fine, I'll go to that little glade and rest all by myself." She crossed her arms and closed her eyes as she turned up her nose and pouted.

Farrah walked over to her and pleaded, "Oh I am so sorry Faybelle, we didn't mean to be so _cold_ , but if you could tell us what you saw that would be oh so wonderful."

Abbey folded her arms and grunted.

Faybelle opened one eye, looked down at Farrah then closed her eye and pouted as she spoke, "Fine. I guess, I could show you guys what I mean. Follow me. But I so expect a back massage from you jerks, my wings are killing me."

She led everyone further into the forest, chirping birds happily floated through the air and the trees changed color, from the dark brown leaves with darker trunks to bold summer greens with healthy brown trunks. Upon arrival to the glade Twyla and crew took a deep breath and sat down. The glade was a field full of flowers with a small stream and a medium sized boulder in the middle. Darling sighed in relief as she set her axe down and ran her hands in the cooling waters.

Billy bent down near the stream and flicked out his tongue, "Smells like fresh water here."

Lagoona raised an eyebrow, "Uh hate to break it to you mate, but we're trapped on an island in the middle of what should be the ocean. That means the only water that feeds into this island would be from the sea."

Billy lowered his hand into the water and brought it to his lips to drink. He turned to Lagoona, "This is fresh water, this is good to drink."

Twyla needed no further prompting; she and her classmates filled their canteens and drank their fill. Frankie unstrapped her bag lunch and opened it, "Good time as any to eat, right?"

Blondie grimaced, "I guess. No telling what it is though."

Crecha opened her bag and frowned, "Only one way to find out."

Evie reached into her bag and pulled out the box. Her hand and the box were covered in an orange gel-like substance, she gawked at her hand squishing the gel between her fingers, "Whoa, this gel is somehow still cold. I'm guessing Ensign Cookie kept it in the freezer or something. Look, this gel is nothing but a bunch of small gel beads."

Cleo shook her head and sneered at Evie, "Evie, royals do not _play_ with gross freezer beads."

Evie's eyes widened as a gel bead burst, "OH! These beads can rupture, oh how cool I wonder if could improve upon the gels ability to hold moisture."

Cleo cleared her throat, "Ahem. Evie. Royalty. Really."

Darling covered her mouth and giggled as Evie continued to play with the beads, "Cleo, let Evie have her fun, she is clearly enjoying it. Not every royal fits the pre-ordained mold."

Cleo pulled a dry turkey sandwich out of the box, rolled her eyes and sighed, "This is true, no one can truly rule with the same poise, grace and humility as _I_."

Faybelle flung herself over Billy's lap and fluttered her wings, "Back massage, now. Chop chop."

Billy rolled his eyes and rubbed her back underneath her wings with one hand as he tried to open his lunch bag with the other.

Darling narrowed her eyes, "Billy needs to eat too, Faybelle. Get off of him."

Faybelle closed her eyes and moaned as she used his thigh as a pillow. Darling rolled her eyes and scoffed as she scooted to sit next to Billy and assist him.

Billy smiled at Darling as she handed him his sandwich, "Thanks."

Darling giggled and gazed at him through long eyelashes, "No problem."

Blondie coughed and took a sip of water, "Ugh this sandwich is much too dry, and these chips are way too plain, and this cookie is way too sweet. Don't even get me started on the presentation."

Abbey's sandwich hung limply in her hand as she glared at Blondie, "You rather have _nothing_?"

Blondie blinked and took another bite of her sandwich, "Uh, no. Yesterday is not worth repeating. No need to worry about me eating, it's just not good is all."

As she spoke Freddie's shadow spirits flew through the trees and swirled through the air overhead, they hovered for a second then excitedly flew back through the trees. Evie picked up her axe, "That can't be good."

Lagoona nodded and began stuffing her garbage into the bag, re-strapping it to the canteen. "Freddie's spirits are generally never a sign of good, mate."


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which are trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Eighteen:

Gnarly Voodoo

Freddie barreled into the glade as she dragged a downtrodden Melody. When Freddie saw the flowers, a genuine smile bloomed across her face. She clapped her hands together and hopped from one foot to the other, "Ha-ha! How did I never find this before!? Dahlia look at this field of flowers, I love it." She turned and beamed at Melody. Melody leaned away, a sheer look of absolute dread gracing her features.

Freddie put her hands on her hips, her smile never fading as her velvet voice lilted, "Any ways, what are you slackers lounging around for, your break is officially over, get back to work." She pointed to Twyla and Farrah, "Well, except for you and you."

Confused Twyla and Farrah waved goodbye to their classmates as they stood in front of Freddie. When everyone had disappeared into the tree line Freddie snapped her fingers, "Hey DJ Dahlia, play me some smooth jazz."

Melody trembled as she pulled out her portable DJ turntable to play a jazz record. The record looked well-worn and the moment the jazz music started to play, her eyes glazed over and she slowly swayed. Freddie rocked her body to the music as she gazed at Twyla and Farrah.

Sharp nails gripped Twyla and Farrah's shoulders as Freddie guided them, "Orchid, you and Spring take a seat here."

Twyla furrowed her brow as she sat down and glanced up at Freddie, "Orchid?"

Freddie smiled, swaying wilder with the music. She jumped onto the boulder and danced with herself.

Farrah squeaked, "Am I supposed to be Spring?"

Freddie nodded and spun around on the boulder. She tapped her foot and swung her hips to the song. Twyla and Farrah remained silent as Freddie jammed out. They hoped answers would be provided when the song changed. The tempo of the song slowed and Freddie laughed as she sat down and closed her eyes.

After a while Freddie took a deep breath and spoke in a wistful tone, "This reminds me of when I was a little girl. Around eight, I think. I remember that old house I used to stay in, it was the one between those two old houses hidden deep in the alley. We used to get all kinds of strangers coming into our house. My Dad, ha, he always had a way with swindling those fools out of their money. He was so good at it, he'd take one look at someone's face and he knew exactly what to say to get them to empty their pockets. Watching him got boring, predictable, so I would go out and steal myself a big bag of beignets from the carousel café and hang out at the local jazz clubs."

She chuckled as her hand twirled the rabbit skull necklace she wore, "This one club became my favorite hangout spot, what was it called? Blooming Rose? Budding Rose? Ah, that doesn't matter, what mattered was the _band_. The sweet music they would play was like a small slice of heaven that made my day. _Three Roses_ was their name and Dahlia, Orchid and Spring were the flowers.

Now Dahlia, she was my favorite, she was the piano player and she had those beautiful dark eyes with those long lashes and her lips! She always painted them the color of chocolate. I stole her lipstick one day and tried it out at home. I was never satisfied with how it looked on me. But her music, I fell in love with the notes she would play, her hands were long and graceful too, she made each note of the music practically come alive. She was so cool to me and _so_ far away."

Freddie's eyes lowered as she tilted her head, "Then there was the horn player, Orchid. She was smooth, I loved the way she swayed to the beat when she played. Her movements were so mesmerizing, I tried practicing in the mirror just to imitate her style but I never got it down. Never got it right, I just wasn't her."

She placed her arms behind her and propped her knee up, "Then there was the lead singer Spring. Absolutely gorgeous woman, she kept her long hair in that messy loose bun and she would pin it up with a starflower comb. But the best part of her, was her honey sweet voice, the songs she sang melted all my worries away. I would sneak into her dressing room and hide in her clothes just to be near her humming. Of course, I stole her perfume and dresses while I was in there too. But at home, none of it fit and it didn't smell good on me. I realized then that I would never be them, so I kept going to the club. At least until the club burned down."

She gazed down at them, "My dad had full control of the shadows then, so I had no way of getting them back. Sure, I had stolen plenty of their things, a comb, a brush, a lock of hair but it's not the same as owning _them_. I had no way of possessing my favorite band. I was nothing but a chubby little girl living in her father's shadow…" Her eyes drifted to the side as she straightened her back, "…but I have power over the shadows now."

Freddie snatched the closest shadow spirit out of the air. She gripped its throat and opened its mouth to peer into it. Twyla twitched as she sensed the air around them darken and heavy sighs emanated from fiends and spirits speaking through the void.

Freddie called down to those spirits, "Shadows of Umbra, hear my plea beyond the door. I know I have one dress but may I have two more, I have my _three_ roses laying in flowers galore."

A chorus of spirits answered her, "Two more is fine, just sign right here on the dotted line."

A bone pen appeared in the air next to Freddie, she grabbed it excitedly then paused, "What happened to my father was all too real, what do _I_ have to do to keep this deal?"

A few disembodied laughs echoed out, "In order to own your rosy chicks here's the hitch, a simple dagger through the heart of that deal dodging witch."

Freddie's eyebrows rose, "And if I die dealing with the witch what then? Will our bargain come to an end?"

The chorus hummed, "If the heart of the witch doesn't meet a blade, your soul we'll keep for the three roses trade."

Freddie pursed her lips and tapped her chin with the bone of the pen, "Let's say I do die but the witch becomes injured, will you let my soul go if her death is still rendered?"

The chorus sang loudly, "Now why oh why, would we let your soul fly?"

Freddie waggled the pen at the spirits, "Because I never got to fully enjoy my prize, surely you could let me go after her demise."

The chorus hummed then replied, "For two more dresses you'll get two years after that your soul's ours, no~ tears."

Freddie smirked, "Two extra years? Yeah that's a fair amount of time. I'll sign to this and you'll serve me for life."

The chorus grew loud, "No deal, no deal, no not for life! You cheat us now, we'll bring you pain and strife."

Freddie put her hands up defensively, "Fine, I'll take the two extra years, and the dresses too, but I will call for assistance, is that good for you?"

The chorus hummed, "The deal is sweet, let's call it done. When we come for your soul know you can't run."

Freddie nodded and signed the deal. Three sparkly flapper dresses flew out of the open mouth of the spirit and she held it proudly. The shadow spirit closed its mouth and floated out of grabbing range. Twyla frowned as Freddie pet the dresses obsessively.

Freddie's eyes widened maniacally as she stared at them, "Do you see these? Just like I remember. These two dresses are for you two to wear, this one is Dahlia's. Her possession is almost complete, I can see more and more of my Dahlia every day." Scared Twyla and Farrah start to back away.

Freddie threw her head back and laughed, "Muahahaha! What's that face for? You already have the body for it all you need is the soul. Don't you want to make me happy? Think about it, you wear this dress for a day and your friends get to drink all the water and take all the breaks they need. Don't you care about the well-being of your classmates? Don't delay, just obey."

She slowly stalked towards them while holding the dresses. Movement behind Twyla made her turn and she observed her classmates coming out of the forest with chopped trees. Darling made eye contact with her and acted.

"Get away from them you fiend!" Darling shouted as she lifted the log she carried above her head.

The log sailed through the air and landed with a thud next to the DJ turntable which stopped the music.

Freddie dodged the log and dropped the dresses as she glared at Darling, "You would come between me and my prize?!" She growled and whipped out a dagger as she chased Darling through the trees, her shadow spirits laughing the whole way.

Without the music playing Melody shook out of her reverie. She looked at the dresses on the ground, shuttered and looked at Twyla and Farrah. "You two should run away while you can. I will put on the dress. This will please Freddie, curb her enthusiasm for punishment."

Farrah shook her head, "I don't like the sound of this possession thing, what exactly did we just witness, who is the witch and why these dresses?"

Melody sighed as she packed up her DJ turntable, "Freddie's voodoo ability, _soul transfer,_ takes the soul of someone residing in an object into the body of the recipient. In other words, when you wear the dress you become the person. These dresses as you probably guessed belong to Freddie's favorite band the _Three Roses_. She is oddly obsessed with recreating her favorite memories, and she loves music. The day Freddie found out that my magic touch was hypnotic music she started forcing me to wear that black flapper dress. She would put it on me while I slept and soon I wasn't sleeping at all. At least I thought I wasn't, I'd remember doing things that I know I didn't know how to do, playing songs I know I don't know. I feel myself slipping every day and the summer, that dress is all I see on my bed at night. I'm afraid to sleep for I might not wake up myself ever again. If you had just let me die then, you could have given me peace of mind."

Farrah sobbed and covered her mouth with her hand. Twyla reached into her pocket for LT Montoya's note and handed it to Melody. "Here, this is from LT Montoya, its suppose to prevent Freddie's shadows from possessing you, somehow. Not sure how it works but if you hide that on you, maybe it can prevent the possession from progressing further."

Melody pocketed the note then looked at Twyla, "Thanks, but you two should really get going. When Freddie feels nostalgic, she's a lot worse than when she is mad."

Twyla turned grabbed a crying Farrah by the hand and ran further into the forest. They spent the rest of the day hiding whenever a shadow spirit would pass and by the end of the day the spirits ceased their search.

Luckily, Cleo, Faybelle and Evie's combined magical abilities completed the job of chopping 420 trees in one day. Freddie unable to find fault in their work sent everyone inside where they ate chow then went upstairs to the dorms and showered.

Farrah cried into Faybelle's arms, retelling the story of the glade and Melody.

Evie gasped in shock, "Spirit possession? Oh wow, last I knew of Freddie's abilities was that she shrunk heads and foretold the dark future with her shadow cards. This is way too close to her story roots to be real. Did she take any of your blood?"

Twyla shook her head, "No but she does have Melody's."

Evie grimaced, "That's not good. She's trying to live her story, but why Melody? What riches does she stand to gain?"

Faybelle snorted, "Or she could just be evil."

Farrah let out a loud wail. Cleo sat down next to her with a box of tissues, "There, there. Melody isn't done yet. We will truly save her when we escape this place."

Farrah blew her nose loudly.

Cleo crossed her legs and raised an eyebrow, "I will tell you this though, something is off about the material of Freddie's daggers. It's completely unnatural."

Twyla tapped her chin, "So far we know that Freddie can possess people with her shadow spirits, create things out of shadow, foretell the future with some shadow cards and apparently shrink heads. If we are going to escape, we are going to have to get past Freddie and that might be our biggest obstacle yet."

Darling, who had a black eye and a cut across her cheek, sighed, "Indeed, Freddie's use of shadows gives her complete control of any space. Hard to combat something you cannot see."

Blondie looked pointedly at the dip on her bed next to her, "Tell me about it."

Billy became visible and sighed, "We might be giving Freddie too much credit. Yeah, she's a terrifying girl, but she's still just a girl-"

Darling huffed, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Billy held his hands up defensively, "I didn't mean any offense, I'm just saying that she has limitations. She isn't the boogey man we make her out to be, she's just a girl with shadow abilities."

Twyla growled, "Hey…"

Billy sighed deeply, "No offense, seriously."

Faybelle rolled her eyes, "Whatever after! Like, I'm done with this Freddie and Farrah get on your own bed, I'm going to sleep." She pushed Farrah off the bed.

Darling scoffed, "Ugh, Faybelle how can you be so insensitive, Farrah came close to something truly terrible."

Faybelle lounged on her bed, "Like, I'm this close to a terrible case of exhaustion. Good night!" She threw a pillow over her head and growled, "Turn off the lights."

Many shuffled away from Faybelle to further discuss the Freddie problem. Twyla was hesitant to supply the weakness of the shadows for it was her weakness as well but it was information that was needed.

The rest of June was spent chopping trees and sanding the wood for the senior ship. The wood had to be left out to dry before any wood treatment chemicals could be applied to it. Thus at the beginning of July, practice for the annual senior boat race was to take place.

Outside it was a beautiful sunny day perfect for drying wood. Twyla stood in line with her classmates. Spectra hovered overhead as she explained, "We have a boat race ever year to determine who the senior class lead will be and we seniors choose the members of our team."

Freddie stalked up and down the rows of students, "Seeing as how _I_ am the current head of the class, I will choose first. Let me see, _Orchid_ ~ My boogah boo, foxtrot on over here."

Twyla grimaced and eyed Freddie cautiously as she walked to stand beside her.

Duchess rolled her eyes and shifted her body weight to one foot, "Ugh, fine. Well if we're going in class rank order then I'm next." She leaned back and pointed, "Faybelle, come and join team Duchess."

Faybelle smiled then fluttered over to Duchess and they high fived.

Spectra looked at Melody and shrugged, "Sorry Melody."

Melody waved dismissively, "Its fine, I was bound to be last in this, any ways."

Spectra turned and glanced around, "Cleo, you're on my team."

Cleo flipped her hair and walked over, "Naturally."

Melody mumbled, "Darling, you're with me, I guess."

Darling nodded and walked over.

Freddie sneered at Melody and cackled, "Last in all things you mean. You are too funny. Any ways back to me, and I choose my favorite songstress. Spring, honey bee~ come buzz around me."

Farrah balked at the comment and flew to stand next to Twyla.

Duchess quirked an eyebrow at Freddie, "Haaaaaawney bee? So _weird_. Any ways I choose Evie Queen."

Evie surprised at hearing her name, blinked, closed her hand mirror and strutted over to Duchess.

Spectra wrung her hands in concern as she looked at Twyla and Farrah, "Uhhh, okay. Well I choose Abbey."

Abbey unfolded her arms and walked over, "Would have been most efficient if I was chosen first."

Melody stared at the ground in complete disinterest and mumbled, "Robecca Steam."

Robecca walked over to Melody. Freddie tilted her head to the side and smirked, "A robot. In a boat race. Peh, good luck with that."

Robecca furrowed her brow as she stood next to Melody, "I'm well acquainted with water travel…"

Crecha nodded, "Yeah, as the first lady of _SKRM_ making a steam-powered boat should be a breeze."

Freddie furrowed her brow and demanded, "First lady of what now?"

Robecca replied as she lifted her boot to allow steam out, " _SKRM._ Skulltimate roller maze. Typically played on skates, I used steam to power through various obstacles and traps. If this boat race is anything like that I should be a natural."

Freddie scowled, "Steam skating and a _scream_ queen? Dammit, I forgot about your little flying stunt. Whatever, stinky sturgeon get over here."

Lagoona squawked with indignation, as she stomped over to Freddie, "Sturgeon! That's a fresh water fish. I'm saltwater, thank you very much."

Freddie snorted and leaned close to Lagoona with hands on her hips, "Fine barracuda, either way you're going to end up dinner if you don't get out my face."

Lagoona stood next to Twyla and folded her arms.

Duchess scrutinized Lagoona and shrieked, "The fish girl…who can beat a fish girl in water. Why didn't I pick the fish girl!"

Freddie shined her nails on her top, "Because I did. Now choose your pick."

Duchess put her hands on her hip then looked around, "Fine. Hmmm. Ooh! You the blue boy with the hair."

Billy pointed to himself, "Me?"

Duchess stomped, "Yaaaas, you're the only blue boy around, get over here. You're on my team."

Billy rolled his eyes and walked over, going invisible once behind her.

Spectra tapped her fingers together, "Hmmm. Frankie."

Frankie walked over and high fived Abbey and Cleo.

Melody sat down, pulled out grass and tossed it as she mumbled, "Crecha, I guess. Whatever."

Crecha sighed, waved to Frankie and walked over to Melody.

Freddie scanned the remaining freshman, "Hmmm _, Goldilocks_."

Blondie rolled her necks as she huffed, "That's my _mother_! Are you saying I look too old!"

Freddie blinked, "Seriously?"

Blondie folded her arms and pursed her lips. Freddie rolled her eyes and jerked her thumb over her shoulder, "My bad, _geez_ you bleached bimbo get on my team."

Blondie scowled and walked over.

Duchess glared at Ghoulia and crossed her arms in front of her, "The zombie? No way, nu huh, not taking it. Spectra can take the _zombie_. I'm taking Hunter."

Hunter, a handsome young man in the sophomore class glanced over in confusion. "What?"

Duchess waved him over, "You are _mine_."

Faybelle giggled, "Ooh, the handsome huntsman~ Nice pick."

Spectra looked apologetically at Ghoulia and opened her mouth to speak.

Freddie interrupted, "Nah uh Duchess. You can't just skip the last freshman."

Duchess and Faybelle pawed at Hunter's chest, not paying attention.

Ashlynn, Hunter's girlfriend, stomped over and yanked Hunter away from them, "Ah rude! Duchess, you can't just start rubbing on other girls' boyfriends." Hunter sighed with relief behind her.

Duchess crossed her arms, "Like shut it, Ashlynn. There are only like _five_ boys in this entire school. Besides he's on my team." She pulled Hunter towards her.

Hunter reached for Ashlynn with pleading eyes. "Help me."

Freddie stomped over and pushed Hunter back into Ashlynn's arms. She spoke low and menacing, as she deliberately spoke each word. "Duchess. Take. The. Zombie."

Duchess sneered at Freddie, "Pah-lease. Shut up Freddie, I know you're just trying to screw up my team so you can win."

Freddie narrowed her eyes and pointed to herself, "What did you just say to me?"

Duchess rolled her neck, "You heard me _Freddie_. This race is my opportunity to finally put you in your place and stop your reign of evil. I will not let you screw me over."

Melody from her position on the ground, trembled as she held her knees and watched the scene, "If…if it will help, I will take Ghoulia. I'm guaranteed to lose any ways."

Freddie smiled, "Well of course you are and I admire your ability to recognize your _place_. But no need, Duchess is going to take the zombie."

Duchess pointed to herself, "No, Duchess is not, matter of fact Duchess is about to choose again if Freddie doesn't shut up about it."

Freddie growled and cracked her knuckles. Duchess ballet danced over to Freddie and stood face to face with her. Freddie threw a punch. Duchess dodged as a swan. Black feathers flitted through the air. She returned to human form. Creamy skin made a fist. Feathers scattered as Duchess landed hits. Freddie grunted as her face, stomach, and chest were punched multiple times in quick succession. Twyla had never seen fist move so fast, it was a veritable flurry of blows.

Freddie growled and whipped out a dagger. Feathers caught the blade as she sliced. Duchess flipped backwards and landed on her hands. She kicked Freddie multiple times.

Ghoulia feeling a little sad, shuffled over to Spectra and groaned. Spectra put her hand on Ghoulia's head. "It's okay, Ghoulia. They don't know how smart you are."

Freddie was thrown backwards by the force of Duchess's kick.

Melody stood and walked over with a sigh, "Spectra, you have a better chance of beating Freddie. Go ahead and make your pick while they are fighting."

Ghoulia groaned. Spectra gasped, "Ghoulia are you sure?" Ghoulia nodded as she groaned.

Freddie rolled off the ground and stood in a crouch. She pointed her dagger at Duchess. The shadow spirits swarmed. Duchess turned into a swan. She flew above the spirits. She returned to human form and dove. Her leg extended and toes pointed. She kicked Freddie in the face.

Duchess flipped off Freddie's face and landed with a sneer, "Ha! How you like me now!"

Freddie with a bloody nose and swollen lip, stood straight. She held the dagger between her pointer and thumb. A spirit grabbed the dagger and disappeared into shadow. Freddie chuckled, "Well little bird, I think you'll find your little _swan dive_ has left you all cut up."

Duchess gasped and dropped into a crouch as she peered around anxiously. A shadow spirit hopped out of the shadow of her ponytail and cut her arm, drawing blood. Duchess swiped at it but the spirit flew back to Freddie.

Freddie smirked as the dagger was placed into her hands. She grabbed the nearest shadow spirit and tore its flesh. She stabbed the torn flesh with the bloody dagger. The shadow shrieked in pain as the torn piece transformed into a Duchess shaped voodoo doll. She gripped the doll tightly and Duchess fell to the ground gasping for air.

Freddie snarled, "So, _Duchess_ , what were you saying about me, hmm? Where are all those foolish words you threw my way? You better think twice about what you say next, I have your _pathetic_ life in my hands." She opened her hand slightly.

Duchess took in a gulp of fresh air, "Huuuuuuu. When I beat you, *cough, cough* all this will be worth the look on your face as you take orders from _me_. And when I am in charge, I won't let you hurt anyone else ever again, you baaaaaaaatch!"

Freddie gave another squeeze, "How cute, you _actually_ think you can beat me. Fine, I'll let you keep your pick. It will make your defeat at my hands just that more _crushing_."

Spectra floated over to Freddie, "Ma'am, now that the issue is resolved may we go back to picking teams?"

Freddie looked at Spectra, then glanced at Ghoulia standing next to Melody, "Fine, make your pick."

Spectra nodded and everyone continued to pick team members until all teams were full. The teams' final picks were Freddie with Twyla, Farrah, Lagoona, Blondie, Lizzie, Petra, Mal and Cedar.

Duchess with Faybelle, Evie, Billy, Hunter, Deuce, Apple, and Kitty.

Spectra with Cleo, Abbey, Frankie, Heath, Raven, and Glimmer.

Lastly Melody with Darling, Robecca, Crecha, Ghoulia, Ashlynn, Porter, and Draculaura.

As Cedar walked over to stand next to Freddie, Freddie turned and looked at Duchess, "Any complaints? Or do you need a do over, not that it will help you _win_."

Duchess sneered at Freddie, "Just be prepared for your new leader."

Freddie snickered and pressed her thumb into the collar bone of the Duchess voodoo doll. Duchess cried out as a loud crunch sound emanated from her collar. She fell backwards with mouth open wordlessly as she screamed in agony. When she hit the ground, her shoulders sagged unnaturally low. The skin of her collar bulged and bruised as Faybelle fluttered in a panic around her.

Freddie cackled loudly as she clutched her stomach, "Ahahahaha! Someone put this bird out of her misery."


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which are trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Nineteen:

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Twyla held her arms as she watched Duchess gasp for breath. In that moment she wished she was a healer but she also wished she was stronger. Strong enough to put Freddie down, and strong enough to save her friends. Could she endure more acts like this? Could she stand idle as others were beaten and broken in front of her? She had to do something, but what? She glanced to her left and noticed Farrah take a tentative step forward.

Freddie's claws extended as she sneered, "Where do you think you're going? You're on _my_ team. Duchess is the enemy. No aiding the enemy, understood?"

Farrah nodded with eyes wide as she backed away from Freddie.

Faybelle shoved Hunter in the shoulder, "Oh em gee, you and Deuce go carry her. She's like, a royal! Treat your queens properly."

Billy became visible next to Duchess. He carefully lifted her bridal style and turned towards Hunter, "I just need someone to open the door."

Hunter saluted with his right hand and jogged towards the door, "I got you."

Farrah quietly sobbed behind Twyla with her hands covering her face. "Poor Duchess, oh, I hope she recovers quickly."

Twyla turned and whispered, "Don't let Freddie see you, no telling what she will do right now to make a point."

Blondie shushed them as Freddie sauntered over.

Freddie's gaze lingered on them before she clapped and announced, "All right minions, let's get away from these losers and walk over there to go over my plan."

Petra, Cleo's self-absorbed older sister, scoffed, " _I_ am a _De-Nile_ , and while I may be your underclassman, I am _not_ some low classed minion to boss around as you please."

Freddie put her hands on her hips and stalked slowly towards her, "My oh my, little Petra wants to act all high and mighty in front of the new kids." She stopped in front of her and sneered, "Need I remind you of your freshman year?"

Petra stiffened and closed her jasper green eyes as she turned on her heel, "No need."

Freddie smirked and crossed her arms, "That's what I thought."

Petra shook with unbridled rage as she stormed away.

Twyla leaned close to Farrah and whispered, "Whatever happened doesn't sound good." Farrah nodded and held her hands over her heart.

Freddie walked to an open area by the water and pointed, "All right circle up, jerks! We have a lot of magic to combat on Duchess's team and a fire and ice duo to defend against on Spectra's team. I already know Duchess is out for my blood but don't discount Spectra's strategy. Spectra is a scout type so she probably already knows your abilities; however, she gets blinded by that knowledge and over thinks things. Not very good at thinking on her feet."

Her onyx eyes scanned everyone's faces, when she locked eyes with Twyla she smiled brightly. Twyla shrank back in fear and peered around for a shadow to hide in, realizing that none were to be found with Freddie's shadow spirits out she tried to make herself appear smaller by hiding behind Farrah's wings.

Freddie chuckled quietly and snapped her fingers, a shadow spirit floated over to her side, "Bring out the table with the map."

The spirit brought out a shadow table and on it was a replica of the obstacle course. Freddie leaned on the table and pointed at the map, "This is the start line and this dilapidated old ship is the finish line. _These_ are the obstacles, here are the underwater mines, here are the flying spikes and this is the line that trips it. This is the mechanism that releases the sharks. Those _sharks_ have concentrated beams that shoot from their eyes and burn holes in the boat so avoiding that is ideal. Let's see…"

Freddie tapped her chin as she glanced around the map, "Of course, how could I forget the most important obstacle of all, LT O'Malley!"

Petra folded her arms and glared, "You _forgot_ about O'Malley? How could you forget _O'Malley_? Are you actually trying to win?"

Freddie cocked an eyebrow at Petra, "Woman what are you implying?"

Petra leaned forward and shifted her body weight to one foot, "There is no _implying_ anything. Your cavalier attitude about both the dangers of this race and _my_ fellow teammates is a clear indicator of your failure as leader. Which is a shame as the only thing _you_ seem to want is to be in charge."

Freddie gripped the sides of the table and growled. "Failure? Oh I'm about to correct a mistake right now." Her grip splintered the table and she tossed the pieces aside. Splinters hit Blondie's face and Farrah rushed to heal her. Freddie stomped up to Petra with her dagger in hand.

Petra did not move and glared down at Freddie as she approached. Petra scoffed, "Are you quite finished throwing your tantrums?"

Freddie sneered, "I've thrown one De-Nile's body into the ocean this year and it won't bother me a lick to toss another."

Petra narrowed her eyes, "Nefera will be the last _De Nile_ you ever lay your hands on."

Freddie swung her arm wide and backhanded Petra. Jet black hair spun as Petra was knocked backwards onto the ground. She held her face as copper brown cheeks tinted red.

Freddie chuckled darkly, "My oh my, looks like my _hands_ laid out another De Nile after all." She glanced at the nearest shadow spirit, "Perhaps I should reunite her with her big sister." The shadow spirits laughed.

Cedar, a girl made of wood in the junior class, walked over to Petra and aided her, "No lie Petra, you might not want to challenge Freddie."

Petra glowered while holding her cheek, "Thank you Cedar for your _astute_ observation."

Cedar smiled, "Thanks, I think. Was that sarcasm? Not gonna lie, hard to tell when you cover your face like that." Petra growled.

Freddie laughed, "You should listen to your _betters_ brat, she might keep you alive just yet." She turned and ordered, "Now, let's discuss everyone's positions in the vessel. _I_ will be rudder, of course, as I am in charge of steering us to victory. Hmm, we have a lot of people this year, I think I can assign some permanent gunners. Mal, you and Petra will be my spell casting gunners. Let's see, Lizzie are your cards water proof?"

Lizzie a pale olive-skinned girl with a red heart tattoo around her right eye nodded, "Why yes, my cards remain strong against all elements as long as I live."

Freddie nodded, "Perfect. You're our defense. Everyone else is rowing. Just row like there is no tomorrow and leave the rest to me. Let's hop in a boat and start practicing." She snapped her fingers and pointed at the water, shadow spirits flew away and brought a small wooden row boat to the shore. Freddie stepped into the boat first and sat down. "All right load up. Hmm, Orchid and Spring you sit right here next to me."

Petra folded her arms and cleared her throat, "Ehem, don't you mean the heaviest person will sit next to you? Twyla and Farrah are clearly the lightest people we have; it would be best if they sit up front next to _me_."

Freddie tapped her chin and sighed loudly, "Ugh, decisions, decisions. On the one hand, I want them there, on the other hand that would throw off our balance…"

Petra looked at her nails, "Well I'm sure your inability to control your carnal urges will guarantee Duchess the win. If that's what you're going for then feel free-"

"FINE. Fine, they are up front with you. Fatty tuna, flaxen hair, you two are back rowers." Freddie interrupted.

Blondie stood slack jawed, "Now _you're_ calling me fat!"

Freddie laughed, "It comes with your story's territory girl. That's what happens when you snack on _other_ people's food all the time."

Blondie pouted as she sat down in the boat. Twyla and Farrah stayed close to Petra as they approached, avoiding Freddie as much as possible. Lagoona sat down next to Blondie. Lizzie and Cedar sat down in the next row of seats but when Petra and Mal sat in the front row everyone immediately noticed one problem. There were not enough seats in the boat.

Petra turned, "Lizzie you are defense, so you shouldn't sit at a row seat."

Lizzie glared, "And you are a gunner so _you_ shouldn't sit in a row seat."

Freddie sighed loudly and looked up at the sky, "This is not happening, why did I choose all these damn _queens_." Her gaze fell upon Twyla and Farrah and she smirked, "Well I guess, you two can share the rudder row with me."  
Petra cleared her throat, "Ehem. Winning should be our top priority and as winning is all I do, I'll be co-captain of this vessel. Now Lizzie, you and Cedar sit in the bed of the boat. Twyla, Farrah take their spot."

Mal scoffed, "Ugh excuse you, why would I, who outranks you, take orders _from_ you?"

Petra flipped her hair over her shoulder, "Because the only thing you're queen of is failing just like Lizzie."

Lizzie raised her left hand. Her face turned a deep shade of red as she bellowed, "Off with your head!"

Freddie launched balled-up shadow spirits at them. "Now that I have your attention." She glared, "Woman is this going to be a continuing trend with you?"  
Petra rubbed her sore nose, "I do not intend to lose to my little sister because you wish to _play around_ with your subordinates and the only one who can defeat a De Nile is a De Nile. So yes, when your leadership is lacking, I will take the lead. No need to worry, I've ruled a kingdom before so I am best suited for the job."

Lizzie pulled a deck of cards out of her pocket and shuffled, "The best _suit_ for this job is hearts, and seeing as how I am next in line to be _Queen_ of Hearts that would be me. And I say _you_ should sit in the bed of the boat and let Twyla and Farrah, the _lightest_ as you say, sit up front."

Freddie growled, "Shut up Lizzie and put those cards away. Now both you and Cedar sit in the bed. Twyla, Farrah go up there."

Lizzie shouted with indignation as she put her cards away, "You would listen to this bandage-wrapped cur!"

Petra snarled, "Hush your bee stung lips churl! I hail from the longest line of royals-"

"Enough!" Freddie drawled, "Now move."

Cedar raised her hand, "Ummm, truth is, it's kind of impossible for me to row from there, am I a backup rower now?"

Freddie rubbed her temples with her hands and closed her eyes, "Yes, back up, geez. Now move."

Cedar shrugged, "Okay. You are the boss."

Cedar and Lizzie moved off the middle row and Twyla and Farrah sat down and grabbed oars.

Freddie looked over everyone and nodded, "All right, this is fairly simple, put the oar in the water and row. Let's go."

Twyla had never rowed before and she didn't know how to do it. She wasn't the only one, they started off at a good pace but as they got further out in the water many grew weary and soon they spun in circles. The stronger rowers rowed faster than the newer ones.

Freddie stood up and pointed as she shouted, "What are you doing! Just row, get it together, why are you rowing so slowly? Look, look, look to your left, whoa hey, ahhh!"

Lagoona, the only one still rowing, steered them directly into a low hanging tree limb which flipped the boat over. The moment Farrah's wings touched the water she panicked and clung to Twyla.

Twyla coughed as she tried to stay afloat, "Farrah, I can't move my arms!"

Freddie paddled towards them, "Don't worry, I'll save you."

A golden hand of light lifted Twyla and Farrah out of the water. Petra floated above the water on a pharaoh's hand with her nose held high, "No need to fear, _I_ have saved you. You are so lucky to have me you know."

The hand that carried Twyla and Farrah flew them over to dry land and placed them there. Petra floated onto the shore and wrung out her hair as she disbanded the pharaoh's hands.

Freddie ordered to the nearest person, "Flip the boat over and bring it back to shore." Lagoona turned to do as she was told.

Freddie then swam to shore and glared at Petra, "Woman! I had everything under control. I don't need _you_ or your magical _pharaoh_ hands interfering in my business."

Petra flipped her hair and threw water into Freddie's face as she pointed, "I would never challenge _your_ authority Corporal Facilier, I merely wished to get through this practice faster. If you will look over there you will see that Spectra and Duchess's teams have already made progress."

Everyone turned. Faybelle cheered cadence to the rowers of Duchess's team on their side of the pond. Their strokes cut through the water like sharks after prey. Spectra had Heath and Abbey aiming their respective fire and ice attacks while the rest of their boat rowed. Melody and her team practiced their turns as Robecca's steam boots thrust their vessel forward.

Freddie growled as she turned back to Petra and backhanded her with a sneer, "If only the people that mummified you had cut out your tongue, would have saved me the trouble."

Petra glared through her hair and muttered in a language Twyla didn't understand.

Freddie grinned as she ordered, "Only in your dreams. Heh, everyone load up. We're practicing until you can all row in sync."

Everyone groaned as they climbed into the boat once more. Practice lasted until sundown, which during the summer was around seven thirty at night. Twyla's arms were sore and no one was any better at rowing than when they started. They stumbled into the chow hall for a quick dinner. Twyla winced as she lifted her fork to her mouth. The very motion was agony.

Afterwards, they crawled up the stairs to shower and prepared for bed.

Abbey looked down at Twyla from her top bunk, "You still live I see. How was Freddie?"

Twyla yawned loudly as she stretched out on her bed. She cuddled her pillow as she recounted, "Awful. I don't know what is worse, Freddie when she's beating people up or Freddie when she's being nice."

Blondie sat up and looked over at Twyla, "Obviously when she's trying to be nice. I have never been so insulted in my life."

Lagoona braided her hair as she walked into the bed bay, "I'll take insults over daggers any day of the week mate. Let her words wash right off your scales."

Blondie glared at Lagoona, "I'm officially ignoring you now."

Lagoona rolled her eyes and sat down on her bed, "Whatever, don't know why you take things so personally any ways."

Faybelle sat down on Farrah's bed, "So, how do you plan on losing?"

Farrah gasped, "Wh…what?"

Everyone turned to look at Faybelle. Faybelle raised an eyebrow and rolled her neck, "What? Like you weren't all thinking it. I mean come on, surely you don't plan on helping Freddie actually win the race, right?"

Faybelle laughed awkwardly for a moment and then stopped as she stood up, "Come on guys, support team Duchess! Like, Freddie is already bad enough, if she becomes the official leader of senior class she will reign terror and destruction down upon everyone's _heads_."

Cleo raised an eyebrow while filing her nails, "More so than usual? Perish the thought, although I doubt Duchess is somehow better. I say, help team Spectra. That way Freddie won't be class lead and _I_ beat my sister, Petra. Win-win."

Faybelle put her hands on her hips, "Yeah for _you._ "

Billy became visible on his top bunk and peeled his eyes away from Darling to glare, "Faybelle…"

Faybelle looked away from him and folded her arms over her chest, "Whatever after, like, ultimately we need a Freddie defeating strategy."

Twyla glanced at the ground just as the shadows in the room returned. "Well now is as good a time as any to discuss it. Freddie's shadow spirits are officially in for the night."

Darling blushed as she retied the ribbon on the neckline of her pajama shirt. Once tied she looked over at Twyla and raised an eyebrow, "How can you tell?"

Twyla pointed at the ground, "The shadows returned. Freddie takes them out every morning but she sends them away every night. It happens every time so I think it's a limitation; the more weaknesses we discover the better."

Robecca nodded enthusiastically from her bed, "Indeed. That Freddie is quite the terror and ending her reign would be most beneficial to everyone. I suggest we assist Melody in a win."

Cleo rolled her eyes, "Ugh, Melody is too timid, she would be another shadow for Freddie to control. No, it would be best to assist Spectra in her win."

Frankie put her hairbrush in her trunk and glanced over at Twyla, "So any other _observations_? Being on Freddie's team gives you the insider scoop."

Twyla gripped her pillow tightly, "Ah yeah, Freddie is super crazy and won't hesitate to kill anyone foolish enough to challenge her. I was genuinely scared for my life when she smiled at me."

Crecha rolled her eyes as she put her ponytail up, "Pshh, everyone knows she's crazy, what else is new?"

Twyla raised her eyebrows, "Uhh, well, she killed Petra's sister Nefera."

Cleo stood up off the bed, "Nefera?"

Twyla winced, "Yeah, sorry. Nefera was your sister too."

Cleo put her hands on her hips and growled, "That. That…that, that, that _cretin_ dare spill the blood of a De Nile!" She narrowed her eyes, "You _will_ tell me everything you know about that _thing_ that dared defile my family, do you understand?"

Twyla cringed, "I'll try but no guarantees, I mean ultimately it's my neck on the line if I'm caught sharing secrets."

Evie glanced over from her hand mirror, "So what you're saying is that you don't want to prevent the murder of all your classmates because you don't want to get murdered yourself." She brushed a hair out of her face and blew a kiss at her mirror, "I don't blame you. Being murdered isn't pretty, trust me, no one has pulled off the beautiful death look. Even Snow White was a terrible drooler. Mainly because the poison apple was just lodged in her throat, silly dwarves never thought to use Heimlich."

Ghoulia groaned with sympathy. Twyla sighed, "Thanks for being so understanding Ghoulia."

Abbey jumped down from the top bunk and put her hands on her hips. "Ghoulia have point. What is point of race if you let someone else win? In my village, we always gave best effort. Winners win and losers learn." She gazed at Twyla, "Do not worry about what others need doing, you do what is best for you. Everything else will fall into place."

Cleo scowled, "You mean, everyone else will be put on their _face._ Freddie is pure evil, if Freddie wins we all lose."

Twyla glanced at Farrah then back to Cleo, "But if someone else wins then I will lose, probably my life."

Faybelle cocked a hip and rolled her eyes "Like, that's fine. Who are you anyways? Like, we are royalty we hold the fate of nations in our hand, you're just a shadow. Take one for the team."

Abbey bellowed, "Enough of this. Everyone do your best in the race, no more talk of letting someone die for others. And you…" She stomped up to Faybelle and froze her, "I am thinking you need a quiet moment to think about what you say." Faybelle's teeth chattered while her eyes darted back and forth in the block of ice.

Abbey shoved the Faybelle cube into the shower bay and turned to Cleo. "It is almost time for first watch, you ready?"

Cleo straightened her bangs, "I suppose."

Abbey nodded, "Good, lights out everyone. Good luck at practice tomorrow."

Twyla sunk into shadow and pulled the covers up to her chin. As the lights in the room dimmed, Twyla replayed the conversation over and over again in her head, unable to rest.

A couple of weeks later during a practice, Twyla watched nervously as Mal challenged Freddie's authority over the best course of action.

Freddie grinned toothily as she looked down her nose at Mal, "My oh my, our little _lance_ corporal wants to question my strategy. It would be a shame if you suffered the same fate as, oh what _was_ her name."

Mal eyes brimming with unshed tears as she growled out, " _Melissa_. And with all due respect _Corporal_ , the path you have chosen would put us close to Corporal Spectra's vessel. She has two elementals as her gunners, and I know Lizzie claims her cards can hold but we all know she makes things up."

Lizzie squawked with indignation, "Well I never!"

Mal continued, "If you take the route that triggers the stake trap when passing Corporal Piper, it will take her and her steam boat robot out. All you will have to navigate around is her debris."

Freddie smugly looked at her nails, "If I wanted advice from my inferiors I would have asked. But seeing as how I didn't give you permission to speak I think it's time for you to have a taste-" She grabbed Mal by the hair and slammed her into the ground, grinding Mal's face into the dirt, "-of the ground. Know that your place is less than dirt or I will bury you in it. Muahahaha."

Freddie stepped on the back of Mal's head and back-flipped. She landed right next to Twyla and glared, "So, _private_ , your lance corporal has earned y'all a lovely little jog around the pond. Check on Duchess for me while you're there, see if you see anything worth noting. Get moving."

Twyla sprinted from Freddie, her teammates right behind her. When she was a good distance away she slowed her pace, which allowed Lagoona and the others to catch up.

Lagoona shouted, "Crickey, you're moving faster than a rip current mate. You all right?"

Twyla nodded breathlessly, "Just…trying…to get away."

Lagoona jogged up to Twyla with brows furrowed, "So, we're not actually going to spy on Duchess, right? Fair play and all that, like Abbey said."

Twyla shrugged, "Well…"

Lagoona gasped, "Twyla! You can't be serious. Look, let me do the talking when we get back to Freddie. Just avoid looking at Duchess and it won't be a lie."

Twyla tilted her head to the side, out the corner of her eye she spotted Duchess twirling on the surface of the water coming straight towards them. Lagoona turned her head just as Duchess stepped onto solid ground and stood in front of them.

Duchess honked, "Haauh? What's this? Face-less sent her spies?" She waggled her finger at them, "Well I am on to you. You can just run back to Freddie and tell her that team Duchess will be earning all the favors."

Twyla scrunched her face, "Favor?"

Duchess leaned closed to Twyla, spittle flying as she spoke, "I didn't give you permission to speak _private_." She leaned back and stuck her head in the air as she looked down her nose, "Don't pretend like you don't know about the faaavors. It's pirating 101. You gotta prove you're the head of the flock to earn a favor from the top. And a favor in this game will put me as the head of my class while putting anyone that serves under me in a pretty sweet spaaaaot." She raised her arms in the air and spun around on one foot.

Twyla looked at Lagoona then turned back to Duchess, "So all participants in the race get something?"

Duchess jumped from one foot to the other, throwing her leg back quickly while she spoke, "As if you don't know…well…Freddie probably hasn't told you anything. I bet all she does is threaten to maim and kill you if you don't win. Typical Freddie. Well, I will win and she will have to take orders from me, haaaa!" She put her feet together and bent her knees while waving everyone away, "Any ways, go away. I'm trying to strategize. Haaaau!"

Twyla sighed loudly and folded her arms as she tapped her foot, "Corporal Duchess…"

Duchess stood on tip-toe and spun around, her eyes locked onto Twyla, "Why are you still here?"

Blondie shoved Twyla to the side with a huff, "Move short stuff, I've had enough of this."

Twyla regained her balance and glared at Blondie's back, "Hey, ugh rude."

Blondie stood in front of Duchess with her hands on her hips, "All right bug-eater spill, I've already got one crazy leader not telling me anything, I don't need two. That's two too many."

Duchess scoffed and planted her feet, "Buh-londie. Heh, I don't have to tell you anything. Now go back to Freddie, I have a winning team to coach."

Blondie pursed her lips and rolled her neck, "Okay, you think because I'm a freshman I won't get buck. I always get my scoop, one way or another ducky."

Faybelle fluttered over. "Duchess, are they like, bothering you because I could put a wicked hex on them." She raised her hands as her eyes glowed indigo.

Duchess held a hand up, "No need, they were just leaving, right?"

Blondie rolled her eyes and cocked her hip, "For now but this isn't over."

Twyla and the rest of team Freddie returned to make their report. She stayed in the back hoping not to be noticed while Cedar relayed the message from Duchess.

Freddie laughed, "Oh that Duchess, such a hoot. She really seems to think she has a chance. Good job Wood, your _honesty_ is so refreshing."

Cedar furrowed her brow, "Are you saying that because I can't tell a lie or are you being nice?"

Freddie snapped her fingers and her shadow spirits hovered behind her, "I can be nice some times, but also yes, your curse is most convenient for me. Now let's practice _my_ strategy again. Load up."

No one dared argue against Freddie. As the sun beat down on their backs they rowed and rowed until the sun descended. Twyla felt she was no better at rowing than when she first started. She gnawed upon her lip as she lay under the bed that night. She wouldn't have to lose on purpose because she wasn't skilled enough to win, but when she lost she would have to face Freddie and that equaled the death sentence.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which are trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Twenty:

Luck with The Locks

The time between July fifteenth and September ninth was spent practicing for the race and building the senior ship. The wood needed to dry for a total of 90 days but Freddie put the wood in a kiln to help it dry faster. As Twyla and crew treated and painted the wood it became obvious that they had no idea how to actually build a ship and Freddie only let them hammer together already cut pieces.

Cleo scowled while she hammered down a nail. Twyla flinched with each bang as she was afraid the head of the hammer would break.

Cleo mumbled to herself, "Cut an escape hatch she says. Hide on the senior ship she says. Uh, I should have known it would be a _terrible_ idea, I mean really, _me_ doing manual labor. Why did I ever agree to such a plan, uhhhh."

Twyla backed away from Cleo, "Sorry, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. How was I to know we wouldn't be taught how to do anything."

Abbey sighed and looked over at Cleo, "Twyla has point. All this Freddie do is tell us what to do, she no tells us _how_ to do. None of us could have predicted that."

Cleo growled at Abbey and hammered harder. The handle snapped in half. The head soared through the air and spun in circles. Twyla, Abbey and Cleo watched it fly and flinched when it landed with a thud into the back of a prowling Freddie's head. She fell to the ground in a heap and her shadows leaned over her snickering.

Everyone gasped and stared at Freddie's prone form. Cleo looked at the broken handle in her hand then the full hammer in Twyla's. She made the switch. Twyla startled by the broken handle in her hand glanced up just as a shadow spirit floated over to investigate. She blinked and grimaced as the shadow spirit pointed at her. All heads turned. Twyla wondered if she could disappear into a nearby shadow spirit but her musings were cut short as Freddie slowly started to rise.

Freddie clutched her head as she turned and growled out, "Who did this?"

Twyla closed her eyes and tried to make herself look smaller, holding the hammer handle out in front of her like a shield.

"Me."

Everyone gasped. Twyla stared at the back of Abbey as she stood tall with hands on hips. She whispered, "Abbey what are you doing?"

Freddie tilted her head as she stepped up to the towering yeti, "Is that so?"

"Is fact," Abbey growled, "Hammer is weak, it break." She leaned forward with a smirk, "Like you without magic."

Freddie sneered, "Underbite if I were you, I'd choose my next words very carefully."

Abbey chuckled the corner of her mouth tilted slightly around her tusks as she stood toe to toe with Freddie, "I've watched you. I know your moves. You bleat for dominance but you, flea." She held up her hand and put her finger and thumb together, "Less than this."

Freddie's shadow spirits wailed as they danced around them. Everyone backed away from the two but maintained a circle to watch them.

Freddie sucked her teeth and leaned her head back, "You know all my moves, huh? Fascinating…" She turned her back on Abbey and made as if to leave, "This snowman think she knows me." She peered over her shoulder and flicked her wrist. A twisted violet dagger appeared in her hand, "Let's put her to the test."

Abbey bent her knees and held out her hands as though bracing herself for impact. She curled her fingers and taunted, "Come learn from me."

The shadow spirits spread like butter smeared on toast over the ground as Freddie rushed towards Abbey. Abbey brought her fist forward. Freddie stepped on a shadow. Abbey's fist met air as Freddie reappeared behind her and stabbed her in the back.

Abbey grunted as her eyes iced over white with rage. A burst of cold shot out of her back as Freddie leapt backwards into shadow to avoid.

Abbey turned and gave a guttural roar that blew Twyla's hair back, "Coward! Face me!"

Twyla trembled at the sight of the raging yeti. She scanned the shadows spread like circles on the ground. Movement out of one caught her eye and she pointed, "There."

Abbey whirled around and blasted a cone of ice at the shadow circle.

Twyla stood up and pointed to each one as Freddie moved, "Over there, now there, there!"

Abbey blasted each one until the ground was coated in a thick layer of ice. She panted as turned a circle in search of Freddie.

Twyla narrowed her eyes. _Where is she?_

A dagger zipped through the air and buried itself in Abbey's side. Twyla whirred around to see Freddie emerge from the forest.

Freddie held her hands up and clenched her fist. Abbey screamed as electricity emitted from the dagger and formed a cage around her. She collapsed on the ground as smoke escaped her lips.

Heath, the fire elemental on Abbey's team, rushed over and cradled her in his arms while onlookers gasped in shock.

Twyla whimpered when she made eye contact with Freddie.

Freddie stalked over to Twyla and snatched her up by the neck. " _Private Boogey_." She snapped her fingers with her free hand. A shadow spirit flew up to her with its mouth wide as other spirits held everyone back.

She grinned from ear to ear "I know she was covering for you. And while I love that you're getting in touch with your wicked roots, I can't let you get away with attacking me. Tell me what should your punishment be?"

Twyla gasped for breath and clawed at Freddie's hand, "I'm…I'm sorry. It was an accident. It…it wasn't even me."

Cleo stiffened and looked away, drumming her hands on her thighs.

Freddie tightened her grip on Twyla's throat as she spoke, "Oh really? How… interesting. Why is it that I don't believe you?" She furrowed her brow, "You hit me with some force. Force like that doesn't come on accident. You've been faking being weak this whole time, and let me tell you, I don't like _fake_ people."

Freddie lowered her eyelids and glanced at the shadow spirit. It's smile widened as she reached into its mouth and pulled out a long sword. Twyla's eyes widened and she kicked and clawed with all her might.

Freddie looked at the sword then looked at Twyla. She thrust up. Twyla cried out as searing pain burn sunk into her abdomen. Once the hilt touched her skin her vision dimmed. Freddie let go of Twyla's throat and Twyla's full weight to rest upon the sword. Freddie twisted the handle.

"Sweet Dreams, Orchid." Freddie whispered as Twyla lost consciousness.

Twyla awoke in the infirmary, the pulsing throb in her abdomen a reminder of how she got there. _Cleo had betrayed me. My own classmate failed to speak, failed to clarify that it was an accident. She sat there and watched me die. They all did. Has all our time together meant nothing? Why did I waste so much energy caring for them? They clearly could care less about me. I've got to get out of here. I've got to get to my family. They'll listen to me, and love me and care for me. I just need to get out of here._

She slid out from under the bed and peered around. She didn't see Montoya and for once she was glad. This was her only opportunity to escape. She slid into shadows and crawled out of the infirmary. Sharp pain shot through her as she moved. She wasn't fully healed but she had to get out of here. Her father was the only one that could save her. She had to leave, this place was too dangerous and there was nothing she could do to change it. The others would forgive her when she gave them their freedom later.

The shadows in the hall dissipated and she collapsed onto the stone tile floor. It was pitch black in the hall. It must have been a new moon. No light meant no shadow. No shadow meant traveling on foot. She grunted and blinked. Her eyes glowed electric blue and illuminated her path. With a groan she pushed herself onto her arms. It was a long crawl towards the front entrance but she just had to make it. Get to the door and get out. That was all she had to do.

Blood oozed out of her wound. She had torn her stitches. One arm in front of the other as she dragged herself across the floor. She had to make it out, she couldn't take another day. Not one more day of the cruelty. Not one more day of the pain. She couldn't do it. She had to escape. She had to reach her father. Her strength slowly left her as she continued forward but she wouldn't stop. She couldn't stop. The front entrance was in sight now. She could reach out and touch it. Her fingertips brushed the base and she sobbed. She didn't have the strength to stand. She was so close but too weak to walk out that door.

Tears filled her eyes and her vision blurred. Sound dulled as the thump of her heart pounded in her ears. A quiet trumpet played in the depths of her mind. She didn't know the song but it felt familiar to her. As her thoughts drifted she heard a voice.

"What are you doing over there?" Walker glided over with a lantern in her hand. She gasped and knelt down, "Are you alright?"

Twyla rolled her head to the side and gazed up, "May you please open the door?"

Walker set the lantern down and searched for the wound, "Save your breath now, I'll get you to Montoya. Just hold on a second longer."

Twyla sobbed, "Please. I don't belong here. This place is torture, I want to go home."

Walker rolled Twyla over and placed her hand over her wound, "I know you do, and I wish to see you returned safe and sound." When the bleeding didn't cease, she lifted Twyla and carried her towards the infirmary, "Just hold on now, I've got you. I'm here for you."

Twyla shook her head weakly as she pleaded, "No, I must go. I can't…"

"I understand your feelings, but there's a time for fighting and a time for healing and right now you need healing." Walker rebutted.

Twyla winced and closed her eyes as they entered the infirmary, "I can't…"

"You'll be surprised what you can live through. Don't ever give up hope. This day will not be the end of you." Walker stated as she set Twyla upon the bed.

Twyla wiped tears from her face as she silently sobbed. A flash of light caught her attention. The light reflected off her indigo flapper dress. She frowned and lifted the material as the quiet trumpet played in her mind, "What's this?"

Walker gazed at the dress, "Hmm, I don't think that dress will survive the wash. I'll bring you a gown and get Montoya, just hold on, I'm never far from you."

Twyla watched Walker's back for a second before she returned her gaze to herself. The trumpet increased in volume. Her eyes widened in realization as she whispered, "Orchid…" She couldn't recall what happened next as her vision darkened and the trumpet played louder.

The morning of the race Twyla was released from the infirmary. Glad to be out of bed, and out of the flapper dress, Twyla joined her class in the chow hall to eat a big breakfast. She twirled her fork in her food as she recalled the events of her bedridden summer.

Abbey whispered, "You need to be eating. Today is race and you in infirmary for long time."

Twyla sighed "I'm a wreck right now. I can't get this stupid song out of my head and…and if I lose I'll have to face Freddie all over again. I want Spectra to win, for Melody's sake, for all of us, really, I do but I cannot get on Freddie's bad side again."

Abbey waved dismissively, "You run your race, don't carry all this worry."

Twyla huffed and took a bite of her food.

Lagoona pointed with her fork, "Abbey's right mate. Regardless of who wins, we'll still be plankton and worrying about which shark is in charge won't change the fact that Freddie is a great white out for everyone's blood."

Abbey nodded, "Lagoona speaks true. I wish you luck, you will need it. I intend on securing my teams victory."

Billy chuckled, "What are you going to do with the favor?"

Abbey took a sip of her drink, "I would stack the favors with everyone else on my team. If we combine and ask for freedom from this place, that is better than not trying at all."

Twyla tapped her chin, "It can't be that simple-"

Freddie stabbed her dagger into the table, "Boogey, Blue, no speaking to the enemy. Race is today. Stay focused on _my_ goals." She gave Twyla a pointed look. Twyla gulped and Lagoona nodded, satisfied Freddie turned on her heel and stalked away.

Once outside, everyone joined their teams at the boats. Twyla sat down behind Petra and gripped her oar anxiously.

Freddie stood with one foot in the boat and one foot on land as she spoke, "I expect everyone to be properly motivated to win this race, if you find yourself lacking, I will gladly help."

Petra scoffed, "Threats the day of the race, really? How droll."

Freddie put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at Petra, "Especially you woman, I know your boyfriend is on team Ducky and you practically unlive for him. I won't think twice about slapping the taste out of your mouth if I see you slacking."

Petra flipped her hair, "You apparently don't think at all. I'm your strongest offense remember? _I_ want to win as bad if not more so than you. This win affects more than just your position, it affects my _pride_. Beside Deuce understands that this is a race, this isn't our first caravan."

Freddie stepped fully into the boat and cracked her knuckles, "Oh _that_ is it."

The boom of a magnum round pierced the air as it hit the water. The boats rippled as a wooden column emerged from the water.

Captain Koda Jones's white coat fluttered as she landed softly with one foot on the column. She turned on her wedge-heel to face the racers though her wide brimmed brown hat obscured most of her face. Her bright gold lipstick highlighted her wide and toothy grin as she lilted, "Good morning students, I hope the day finds you well. The rules of this race are simple, make it to the finish line with most of your vessel intact and you win. I expect a rousing spot of competition but try not to kill each other, hard to teach a class that doesn't exist. Now the prize for our dear corporals will be the coveted position of class leader, complete with a step promotion to Staff Sergeant upon graduation. For the lovely under classman on board the winning vessel the opportunity to _write_ a letter home will be your prize. You will of course be _monitored_."

Excited chatter rippled throughout the freshman class. Twyla glanced at Farrah, Lagoona and Blondie with eyes wide and eyebrows raised before she returned her attention to Captain Jones.

Captain Jones grinned as she tugged down her captain's hat, "Corporals, ready your vessels."

Freddie sat down at the rudder, "Hands on your oars, be prepared to row."

Captain Jones raised her twin beryllium-copper revolvers in the air, the graphene alloy rose motif reflected the sunlight onto the water as she fired another magnum round, "Go!"

Twyla sunk her oar into the water and paddle with all her might. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed her boat was neck and neck with everyone except for Melody's boat. Robecca's boots blasted her team forward.

Freddie snapped her fingers, "De Nile, curse the robot!"

Petra raised her arms and her eyes glowed medallion yellow. A swirling hexagon formed between her wrist and she lobbed it. The hex slammed into Robecca's back and jolt of electricity went through her. Her boots spurted and spit until the steam ceased and her teammates dragged her back into the boat.

Freddie cackled. As they passed the mine field and the shark tank trip wires Freddie called out, "Yo Mal! Let's give old Duchess a push in the right direction."

Mal's hands glowed red as she thrust a gushing wind out of her palms.

It shoved Duchess's vessel right over the flying spike tripwire. Duchess braced herself and honked out, "Faybelle!"

Faybelle's hands glowed red as she diverted the flying spikes back towards Freddie's boat mid-air.

Freddie shouted, "Lizzie the deck!"

Lizzie tossed her cards into the air with her right hand, " _House of cards_."

The cards grew to the size of a man and formed four spinning rows around the boat. The spikes hit the walls and disintegrated.

Freddie laughed and continued forward with Spectra on her tail as Duchess's crew tried to catch up. Melody's crew avoided Freddie as they took the long way around the shark tank trip wires completely bypassing the flying spike trap.

Spectra cried out, "All right ghouls, let's use _ice_ to meet you, sorry to _fire_ you."

Heath's hair lit aflame, "You got it doll!"

Abbey and Heath aimed and shot a combined a fire and ice attack towards Freddie.

Freddie growled out, "Those cards better hold, Hearts!"

Petra scoffed and countered with _pharaoh's hand._ The spell bounced off her hands and back towards Spectra. The force of the bounce blasted Freddie's boat up the ramp and down towards O'Malley's bomb shack.

While in the air Freddie screamed, "We're coming down too fast."

Mal's hands glowed red and a dark wave rose out of the water and slowed their rate of descent.

Spectra shouted, "Cleo disable her steering."

Cleo smirked, "With pleasure."

Cleo used _pharaoh's hand_ to rip the rudder off Freddie's boat. Melody passed through the debris of Spectra's boat as Spectra's crew cheered.

Freddie growled as Duchess's boat zoomed past their wave, "Petra, we're dead in the water here, steer!"

Petra used _pharaoh's hand_ as a make shift rudder.

O'Malley grinned maniacally as Duchess, Freddie, and Melody passed, "Have a taste of this!" She launched a barrage of bombs but Lizzie's _house of cards_ kept Freddie's boat safe while Melody and Duchess zoomed past.

Freddie scowled when she couldn't row past Melody. She grit her teeth and shouted, "Yo' shark bait, get out and push!"

Lagoona jumped out of the boat creating a huge splash which hit the swirling hex upon Robecca. She sparked and they spun out of control while aflame.

Freddie fist pumped, "So much for the so-called first lady of _scream_." She returned her attention to the race and noticed Duchess in the lead. She pulled a lock of Duchess's hair out of her pocket and made a voodoo doll, "Oh no you don't bird brain. Not now, not ever."

She used the doll to make Duchess attack all of her own teammates. Grunts, honks and screams followed as Duchess kicked her own teammates out of the boat. Freddie laughed as her boat zoomed forward to snag the win.

Captain Jones waved a flag and joyfully shouted, "We have our winner, Corporal Facilier!" She pulled a rock out of her pocket, threw it out and shot it, which changed it into a large floating platform. All the students climbed onto the platform as it passed to ride it to shore.

Back in the chow hall, Twyla and the winning crew wrote letters while being monitored by LT Ching. Once Twyla sealed her letter in the envelope, LT Ching dictated, "On the front right corner where the stamp is placed write the date in year month day format. Do not worry about the address they will be stamped at a later time."

Twyla neatly wrote the date as instructed. As Ching gathered the letters and placed them in a large canvas bag with the date displayed on the front, Twyla began to get suspicious.

Ching slung the bag over her shoulder and opened the chow hall door, "Head to the dorms. Tomorrow is a study day and the last day of summer. You will be quizzed on _all_ summer homework assignments; I suggest you study seriously."

Everyone exited the chow hall. Twyla watched as Ching walked in the opposite direction. She grabbed Blondie's arm and pulled her aside.

Blondie quirked an eyebrow, "Uh, yes?"

Twyla raised her finger to her lips, "Don't you think it's weird that they would let us write letters? I mean, we were kidnapped right. Why would a group of pirates let the students they kidnapped write letters home? Much less stamp the letters with the address."

Blondie furrowed her brow and looked down, "You have a fair point. Could be that they send out ransom letters and have us write a _we're alive_ message to make it seem more authentic. As for the address stamp, it could be a designated ransom drop off location. Never know."

Twyla nodded, "Either way it's a location close enough to our own. Knowing where we are is necessary for escape. Let's go."

Blondie and Twyla followed Ching at a distance, keeping their footsteps light. When they turned the corner, they ducked behind walls to keep out of sight. Ching rounded another corner and Twyla and Blondie moved from their hiding spot. They hugged the walls, slowly continuing down the hall. They peered around the second corner and observed Ching taking the bag into a room labeled _mail_ , adjacent to the armory.

When the door closed Blondie and Twyla snuck and hid behind the wall leading to a club room. Ching exited the mail room, locked the door, walked down the hall and up the stairs passing a cowering Twyla and Blondie. Once Ching was out of sight, Blondie and Twyla quickly crept over to the mail room door. Twyla was lookout while Blondie picked the lock.

Once the door was open Blondie gasped. "Well Twyla, you were right to be suspicious about those letters."

Twyla turned and gaped at the room, from floor to ceiling was years' worth of unsent letters. She kicked the nearest bag and growled, "Ugh! This is ridiculous, why even pretend that these letters would be sent?"

Blondie shrugged, "Knowing this place…to give us false hope so they could throw it in our faces and crush us later."

Twyla sighed, "Come on, let's go to the dorm. I'm…I'm tired."

Disgruntled Twyla and Blondie returned to the dorms, joined their classmates in study and delivered the news.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which are trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Twenty-One:

The BAMF Boon

Fall semester started with Twyla more motivated than ever to get a solid escape plan together but while their hearts were willing their bodies were unable. Classes were even more intense as there were significantly more classes than during spring semester. Monday, Wednesday and Friday classes were _Politics of Parlay, Herb Gathering, French I_ and _Good Grubbin'_. Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday classes were _English Treatise_ , _Arr-gebra II, Body Parts Aren't Made of Wood_ and _Shanties_. If the schedule wasn't exhausting enough, they were being raided almost every night. Twyla swore up and down that they were being monitored closely.

By December third, everyone was mentally and physically exhausted, the escape plan hadn't gotten further than leave the dorm and don't get caught.

Twyla yawned and tried curling under the covers but she soon realized she was sleeping on the floor. She slowly opened her eyes and groaned at the lack of shadow. "Great…Freddie's up and terrorizing someone. Geez, it's a free day, does she ever stop."

Abbey groaned as she got out of bed, "Doubt it. Oi, I could be using a vacation. I don't think I can take another week of this."

Lagoona rubbed her eyes and yawned loudly, "I hear that mate. I'm up to me gills in stress with these night raids. I never understood why LT Delahaye was so stuck up on a loose string. The entire uniform looks like a cheap torn wash cloth."

Billy became visible, jumped off his top bunk yawned and stretched, "This place is a total mind game. It's all up on its rules and putting people in their place. Uhhh, while I would love to just laze about for this study day, I would love actually coming up with an escape plan even more."

Twyla shuffled towards the latrine "Well let's get breakfast, compare our notes and make some plans."

Down in the chow hall, Twyla was immediately on high alert as she noticed the normally sparse Saturday breakfast chow hall was packed wall to wall.

"Well what a sight, look who decided to drag themselves down to breakfast this fine morning."

Twyla's eyes widened as she noticed Captain Jones.

Captain Jones smiled, when she spoke her voice lilted jovially, "Well don't just stand there with your mouth catching flies, go get in line and put some real grub in those little bellies of yours."

Twyla and crew hustled to obey the order, no one knew why the captain was in the chow hall but no one wanted to be the one that got on her bad side. Once seated Twyla and crew waited until the captain started speaking. Captain Jones glanced at Billy and narrowed her eyes. She bent forward and peered at him with suspicion. The light from above reflected off her glasses and formed a square that highlighted a small thin scar on her left breast.

She shook her head and leaned back to address the room, "Everyone. I hear from my LTs that your studies have been going very well. I am pleased to hear it. Now, I am here today to recognize the distinguished accomplishments of Corporal Facilier for her meritorious service to Privateer Preparatory School as part of Class 222 on the night of March 12,2016. During this time, Corporal Facilier led an elite team of three students to expertly eliminate Class 221, commandeer their ship _The Nefera_ and travel to eight pre-designated locations within one night acquiring over 4,500 pounds worth of gold and jewels. In this same night, Corporal Facilier's stalwart leadership led to the acquisition of fourteen new students for the school, ten more than originally targeted. Corporal Facilier has brought credit to herself and this institution. In recognition of her dedicated efforts I am granting Corporal Facilier a great boon to be used at her leisure."

Everyone clapped as Captain Jones shook hands and saluted Freddie. Once completed, Captain Jones smiled and spread her arms wide, "Please, I encourage everyone here to follow the example set by Corporal Facilier. I'm sure she welcomes all challengers to try and kill her in her sleep." Awkward laughter followed this comment. Captain Jones lowered her hat over her eyes, "Enjoy your study day everyone, use it well."

She left the chow hall and the room buzzed with chatter. Twyla and crew began eating quickly, weary of Freddie turning her attention onto them.

Freddie held up the coin to the light, grinning from ear to ear while staring down Mal, "Check it out Thornberry a boon for my good deeds." She tapped the coin to the shrunken head barrette holding her pigtail, "It's a shame that you will never have the guts to try me, I would thoroughly enjoy reuniting you with your friend."

Mal slammed her hands onto the table and forced a grin on her face as she glared, "Congratulations, you got a prize for be a murdering psychotic witch. Good job, I hope that one day you get _all_ you deserve with all due respect _ma'am_." She shoved away from the table and walked out of the chow hall.

Freddie's smile dropped a fraction as she looked at the coin in her hand. "How boring is _she._ Heh, actually I think our _study_ day just got a lot more _bad_." She pocketed the coin and grinned at Spectra. "Let's find out what's eating our dear under classman."

Spectra lowered her head and nodded. She flew through the chow hall wall. Duchess, Melody, and Freddie followed out the door, but as Freddie stepped over the threshold her coin fell out of her pocket, rolled onto the floor and hit the side of Twyla's boot. No one heard the coin drop over the chatter in the chow hall but Twyla felt it, and when she looked down she saw a golden opportunity. She devoured her breakfast quickly and pocketed the coin as she hurried to leave.

"Oh my Rah, what's the hurry?" Cleo demanded fork still poised over her peanut butter and banana covered French toast.

Twyla dashed away, "I'll explain in the room."

Frankie stuffed the rest of her food in her mouth and grabbed both of their trays, "I'll be her battle buddy, Cleo, no worries. Hey Twyla, wait for me."

Crecha huffed and stood up, "Frankie, don't run off by yourself."

Cleo growled, "Crecha, you sit down. I will not sit at a table by myself."

Ghoulia's eyes widened and she groaned.

Cleo shook her head as Crecha walked away, "Of course you matter Ghoulia, I was merely scolding- Crecha get back here, your sister will be fine."

Once in the dorm, Frankie asked, "What was the big hurry Twyla, Saturday chill day is the only day to enjoy a good breakfast."

Crecha stumbled into the dorm slightly out of breath, "Frankie you run too fast."

Twyla ignored Crecha as she pulled the coin out of her pocket and showed it to Frankie, "This was my big hurry."

Frankie looked wide eyed at the coin, "Whoa, how did you take that from Freddie? Wait, why did you take it from Freddie?"

Twyla shook her head, "I didn't, but I think I may have earned myself a boon."

Frankie raised her eyebrows, "So what do you plan on getting?"

Twyla pocketed the coin, "That's what I was hoping to discuss in study group. I just didn't want to be in the chow hall when Freddie realized it was missing."

Frankie gasped, "Do you think she noticed its missing?"

Twyla raised both her eyebrows, "I hope not…"

Crecha folded her arms and narrowed her eyes, "Frankie this boon just screams danger, you shouldn't get involved with it. Let someone else figure it out."

Frankie tilted her head and closed her eyes, "Hmm, maybe you're right Crecha. Ghoulia is better at solving problems. Let's just wait for her."

Twyla looked at Frankie sideways, "All right…"

Later on when everyone returned to the dorm Twyla showed them the coin, "So what are our options, here?"

Cleo stood up, stomped her foot and put her hands on her hip, "Too easy, _I_ would demand to have _myself-_ " She waved a hand over everyone, "-and all of my friends released from this dreadful island."

Blondie giggled, "The boons don't work that way. Captain Jones gave Freddie a great boon, getting off the island requires a legendary boon, which equals about _1000_ great boons."

Everyone looked at Blondie. Blondie blinked back, "What?"

Faybelle lowered her eyelids and scoffed, "Like, we all want to know how you know that."

Blondie grabbed her text book, _World History: Politics of Parlay_ and pointed to a page, "This was part of our lesson this week, the many flavors of favors, and the weight of each level of boon. A great boon is…"

She flipped through the pages, "…right here. A great boon _can_ grant the user more information. But by itself it is not very useful…hmmm…"

Blondie turned the page, "…aha. The legendary boon can only be granted to those who find a legendary treasure or seven rare treasures and deliver it to an appointed officer in charge. 100 great boons equal one rare boon and 100 rare boons equals one legendary boon. Legendary boons can be traded for three things; guaranteed information on legendary treasure, freedom from servitude of the school, or a legendary favor. No matter what the favor is, a legendary favor _must_ be honored. The measure of treasure is subjective to the person it is given to thus one must know the officer they are handing treasure to very well. The level of boon is also subjective to the giver, thus while they may like a treasure if they don't feel like giving a boon they don't have to. The terms boon and favor can be used interchangeably."

Cleo threw her head back and sank down on the ground, "Then it is hopeless, the only way to get that kind of treasure would be to leave the island and at that point we wouldn't need to, uahaha."

Darling took some paper and fanned her, "Indeed, it is pointless to keep something that does not belong to you. I know it belongs to Freddie but it is hers and she did earn it."

Faybelle rolled her eyes, "Whatever after _Charming._ I don't know what kind of fairy tale you're living in but in case you haven't noticed we are like, prisoners right now. Giving the coin back doesn't get us a reward, it gets us punished. We should keep it."

Blondie nodded, "Hate to agree with Faybelle but finders' keepers. Besides Freddie wouldn't hesitate to torture _us_ over a precious lost thing, so by keeping it we are actually being the good guys."

Billy appeared and cleared his throat, "Guys, here me out, Freddie was just publicly awarded a coin from the vice principal, in front of the _entire_ school. The moment she realizes she lost that coin she is probably going to search the _entire_ school looking for it. She will find it because her shadow spirits can go anywhere. What do you think she will do when she finds out we have it?"

He gave Twyla a pointed look, "Do we really want to go through that type of pain?"

Twyla looked down at her hands and rubbed her stomach, "Yeah, you have a point. The less we deal with Freddie the better."

Abbey folded her arms and nodded, "Indeed, Billy has made excellent point. We must return this coin."

Lagoona stretched her legs out and leaned back on her bed, "Best not to make waves against that Freddie, but who is going to give Freddie the coin."

Evie looked at herself in her hand mirror while sitting on her bed, "Well as this conversation doesn't involve me, I think it's time I get back to what really matters. _Oh_ , my eyes are amazing in this light."

Faybelle smirked, "You know we should totally give the boon back to Freddie but, like, place a dying curse on it so the next thing she eats will kill her." She perked up, "Ooh, or even curse it with bane of the user so she can never put it down as it saps away her energy."

Everyone looked at Faybelle in disgust. Faybelle crossed her arms and pouted, "It could work."

Evie snapped her hand mirror shut and looked at Faybelle, "No it won't. I know you begged your mom to go to Fableous Elementary but me, Mal and Freddie remained at The School of Brutal Domination and Sadistic Magic. You may not remember it but we were encouraged to be the baddest, because bad was good you know. We had that bad kind of good closeness."

She looked down at her hand mirror, "Mal and Freddie were always trying to out magic each other, it started out as healthy competition but after Freddie's dad was dragged to the shadow realm Freddie became obsessed with always being the one in control. She dabbled in darker and more powerful shadow magics. I thought our stint in Auradon changed her but it seems being kidnapped brought out her true darkness. I just wasn't aware of _how_ dark."

She tilted her head to the side, "Now that I think about it, two days before Freddie went missing her mom died. According to Mal, Freddie's mom had been choked to death by one of her uh… _clients_. I'll bet you anything that when Freddie came home and saw her mother in that awful position she snapped completely. I think I would be full of rage too if that happened to my mom. But my mom's not a whore, she's a queen so I'm not mad at all." Evie perked up and smiled into her hand mirror.

Faybelle cleared her throat, "Ahem…what was the point of that story?"

Evie turned her gaze, "Hmmm, oh right. Well, point _is_ you know how powerful a sorceress your sister is, Freddie has countered every spell Mal has ever thrown at her. Your curse won't work on Freddie."

Faybelle leaned back and rolled her eyes, "Fine, no curse."

Farrah tapped her chin with her pointer finger, "Ummm, how about we treat the boon like a boon and trade Freddie the coin for escape information. Obviously, Freddie found a way to temporarily leave the island, we could demand just that."

Everyone turned and looked at Farrah. Farrah blinked, "What? What's wrong, did I say something foolish?"

Billy grabbed Farrah by the shoulders and smiled at her, "Y _ou_ are a genius."

Farrah blushed, "Oh! Oh, thank you Billy."

Faybelle narrowed her eyes and glanced back and forth between them, "Like, good idea and all but we still need to _do_ that. How are we, as like, _privates_ going to approach a _corporal_?"

Cleo flipped her hair as she stood up and posed dramatically, "Never fear, _I_ will use the power of my station to approach this Freddie."

Twyla raised an eyebrow at Cleo, "You're still a private."

Cleo looked down, "I am a _De Nile_ , my very presence demands respect."

Twyla snorted and looked down at the hem of her skirt.

Faybelle stood up and raised her arms high, "Like, maybe we don't have to give Freddie the boon, maybe we could use an illusionary spell. That way, Freddie doesn't search for the boon but we still have it. Win-win."

Cleo turned towards Faybelle and placed her hands on her hip, "If its illusions you want then I think _I_ am perfect for the job, after all, my abilities seem to be the perfect counter to Freddie's."

Robecca furrowed her brow and tilted her head, "I apologize I seemed to have missed something, how are your abilities perfectly suited to counter Freddie's?"

Ghoulia groaned. Cleo stomped and growled, "Shut up Ghoulia, don't worry about the minor details."

Ghoulia narrowed her eyes and groaned. Cleo sucked her teeth and folded her arms, "All right fine, worry just a little."

Darling sighed loudly, "Still don't fully understand zombie I'm afraid."

Robecca translated, "Well, from what I could gather Cleo uses light-based spells and Freddie uses shadow-based spells. If Cleo prepares her spells in advanced properly, in theory she _should_ be able to counter anything Freddie throws her way; however, since Freddie is a very powerful shadow user Cleo would literally have to prepare over 100 counter spells just to be safe. And if what Ghoulia said was true then Cleo has only ever prepared up to 40-"

Cleo stomped and glared, "I said not to worry about the _little_ details. I am a De Nile and when the people demand action I will deliver." She raised her arms in the air forming a W around her head, "I will face this Freddie and I will give her a boon she will never forget. We will keep the original, Freddie gets a fake that is cursed everyone wins."

Faybelle clapped enthusiastically.

Twyla grimaced, "Cleo just give Freddie her boon back, no need to make it complicated."

Cleo put one hand on her hip and waved Twyla away, "Go and make arrangements with Freddie for a meeting at her earliest convenience."

Lagoona looked at Twyla and then back to Cleo, "I think it would be better if Twyla _didn't_ interact with Freddie. Freddie is sort of obsessed with Twyla, we may never see her again if she goes."

Cleo held her hands up in exasperation, " _Fine_ , Frankie, go and make the arrangements, if Freddie gets too aggressive just shock her into next season."

Frankie nodded and got up to go; Crecha followed as her battle buddy. Twyla and crew studied while they waited for Frankie to return with the news. Thirty minutes later, Frankie and Crecha returned to the dorm. Frankie held her leg and Crecha's arms as she hopped into the room.

Crecha, currently armless, stomped over to Cleo, "Well, you have a meeting with Freddie at 1300 today inside the library."

Frankie hopped over to her bed and sewed her leg back in place, "That Freddie was _not_ happy to see us, but she agreed to meet. We told her that you wanted to talk to her but we didn't tell her why."

Cleo nodded and flipped her hair, "Good, I will _enjoy_ putting that beast in her place. Ghoulia you are my battle buddy, I need you to calculate Freddie's exact moves so I can prepare my counter spells, don't want to end up like Abbey."

Abbey narrowed her eyes and huffed but remained silent.

Ghoulia moaned. Cleo threw her arms up, "Oh come on, I know you can do it, you're the smartest one here. Now follow me."

Cleo and Ghoulia left for the library to prepare while everyone else continued to study in the dorm. Twyla chewed her lip anxiously as she watched Frankie and Crecha put themselves back together. She wanted to be free of Freddie but she didn't want to send anyone to their death, even if it was Cleo. She just hoped that Freddie would be in a forgiving mood.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which are trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Twenty-Two:

Beating the Beast

-Freddie-

Freddie cracked her knuckles and popped her neck as she stalked down the stairs. Her shadow spirits giggled behind their chubby hands as they followed. She sneered, "Shut up! I'm just going to check things out, I haven't lost my touch." Their chipmunk chuckles annoyed her.

She huffed as she sauntered through the main hall, "Enough, you know what to do when we get there."

Chimes from the clock above the door signaled the time. The spirits laughed earnestly as they pointed to it. She smacked a spirit to relieve her irritation. They were so annoying but they were part of her deal. A treasured prize for treasured time in the light world. She never truly understood their need to be outside of Umbra and when she asked all she got was whispers of Viracocha, whatever that was.

She walked through the arches of the hall of windows and towards the towering door of the library. She always felt the eighteen-foot wood paneled doors was a bit much but with LT Walker being the teacher in charge of the library it was bound to be big. The zombie girl stood outside the door. Freddie ignored her, the zombie was a servant to the mummy and the mummy was inside. She shoved the heavy oak doors open. Cleo lounged against the table filing her nails.

Freddie put her hands on her hip and stalked towards her, "Two little birdies came by my room today. They left me with quite the dilemma."

Cleo glanced at Freddie as she continued filing her nails, "Oh?"

Freddie walked closer, "Yeah, on the one hand I find myself _overwhelmed_ with the need to put a private in her place, but on the other hand I'm intrigued. What business does a private think she has with me, care to explain?"

Cleo put her nail file away and placed both hands on the table as she leaned back. She casually crossed her legs at the ankles and smirked confidently, "I'm a De Nile, when I call you answer. And here you are, good girl."

Freddie chuckled as she shook her head in disbelief and drew nearer, "Oh child, you must really be in _denial_ about your position here. I'm a corporal, you're a private. You follow my orders." She cracked her knuckles and smirked, "And _this_ corporal is about to give you a little lesson on the _chain_ of command."

Cleo uncrossed her legs as she chuckled and smiled confidently, never breaking eye contact, " _You_ teach _me_? Ha! I'll be the one teaching here, _worm_. Lesson one, you are _far_ below me."

Freddie's eyes narrowed as she lunged for Cleo. She swung her fist. Cleo dodged the first punch without leaving the table. Freddie swung again, Cleo slid off the table and dodged again with a sneer, "Such a cave man, _pathetic_ really. Are words beyond you, or is your only method of establishing authority through your fist?"

Freddie pulled out her knife and swiped at Cleo, Cleo backed up, but two strands of her hair fell to the ground. Freddie laughed while licking the blade, "Oh no, I also use this bad boy and I am going to enjoy cutting you down to size."

Cleo bent her knees as she smirked and stared Freddie in the eye, "Bold move _boy_ , but don't go cutting girls on the first date, you'll find that _women_ don't like it."

Freddie raised her arm and pointed the dagger at Cleo's face, "Don't worry little girl, I don't intend on bringing you home to meet my momma any ways."

Cleo laughed loud and short like a shotgun blast as she mimed throwing dice, "Ha, from what I hear your _mummy_ doesn't care who comes into the house as long as they pay well and from the look of things you've _choked_ down your fair share of shadows."

Freddie lunged, "You're about to choke down on this dagger."

Cleo's eyes glowed as she dodged. Freddie's dagger turned to smoke. Freddie stared at her now empty hand. Cleo raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Performance issues? How embarrassing, maybe you shouldn't be so quick to whip it out."

Freddie growled and clenched her hand into a fist, "The only thing you need to worry about me whipping is _your_ royal ass!" She lunged forward and swung. Cleo dodged with a forward roll and stood behind Freddie. Both turned around and stared at one another. Freddie narrowed her eyes.

Cleo smiled and laughed not breaking eye contact, "Well what do you know, you _can_ recognize royalty after all. If only you realized how far below _me_ your station was."

Freddie lowered her head and growled through clenched teeth, "Girl, you are dealing with the queen of the shadows, I will end you."

Cleo raised an eyebrow, her smile reaching her eyes, "Queen of the shadows. How cute, must be easy to reign over subjects that can't talk back. Well not _that_ easy, I mean wasn't your father dragged to the shadow realm by the very subjects you claim to reign over? _My_ subjects loved me so much they gave their very lives to keep me going."

Freddie's features darkened as she pulled more daggers out of the shadows, "I am done dealing with you."

Cleo mock covered her mouth while still smiling, "Ooh, did I strike a nerve? Poor little Freddie, all alone in a bright big world with nothing but shadows to play with. Or perhaps you _played_ with all of your mummy's friends when they grew bored of her."

Freddie growled and threw multiple daggers at Cleo. "You will shut your mouth now, or I will permanently shut it!"

Cleo's eyes glowed and the daggers turned to smoke once more, "Me? Clearly, you're not talking to me, because the only thing that should be coming out of that _filthy_ mouth of yours when addressing _me_ is, your highness how may I serve."

Cleo grinned from ear to ear while staring Freddie down.

Freddie took a breath to regain her calm. Evie had clearly spoken with the De Nile about her past. She would need to let Evie know she didn't appreciate her airing her dirty laundry. And to think Evie and Carlos were the only villain kids that she had somewhat _liked_ while at Auradon. She chewed her cheek as her eyes darted about, there had to be some trick to this. No light spell has ever dispelled her shadows to this extent. The other De Niles were weak. What made this one so special? A shimmer in the corner caught her eye. There was a spell there… no multiple spells. Ah, the De Nile lured her into a trap, how clever. This entire room was rigged to counter her the second she walked into the room. She should have known.

Freddie leered, "Is that all you called me out for, because if it is private, you are not leaving this room _alive_."

Cleo tilted her head back and tapped her chin with her pointer finger, "Hmmm, what did I summon you for, ah yes this." She reached into her pocket and held up the boon. Freddie's eyes widened as she reached into her pockets, not finding the boon she glared at Cleo. Cleo smirked while holding the boon close to her face, "I want answers and you _will_ provide them."

Freddie put her hands to her stomach and laughed so hard tears streamed down her face. Cleo leaned back against a table and waited for Freddie's laughter fit to end. After a while, Freddie wiped her eyes and stopped laughing, "I haven't laughed like that in a long time, girl, you are too funny. You think that little coin gives you power over me? You are _dead_ wrong."

Freddie snapped her fingers and the shadow spirits popped up. She pointed to the coin and the spirits turned towards Cleo.

Cleo sat calmly against the table still holding the boon against her cheek while smiling. She raised an eyebrow and motioned, "Well, bring it on."

Faster than the eye could see the spirits were over by Cleo reaching for the boon, but the moment a spirit touched it, the spirit gave a loud cry of agony and disappeared. Freddie scowled.

Cleo stood up and sauntered over to Freddie. She stopped when they stood toe to toe, "Shadow queen, don't make me laugh. That was a paltry title you gave yourself. I am a true queen, descended from the longest dynasty of rulers, praised by my subjects and hand selected by the heavens above. Your pathetic shadows can't touch me, I am the closest you will ever get to the rays of the sun and the only thing I will permit you to do is bask in my glory. Now tell me, _peon_ , how did you EVER disillusion yourself into believing that your assigned rank mattered to me?!"

Freddie's eye began to twitch, she closed her eyes and stepped back as she pinched the bridge of her nose. After a minute she laughed, "Bold move, private. Bold move. Too bad for you I don't even _need_ that great boon. I have a dozen more like it back in my dorm and while this has been entertaining, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut your reign short."

Quick as a flash, Freddie summoned another dagger and sliced at Cleo. Cleo rolled her eyes and smacked the dagger into smoke. They stared at each other for a moment before Freddie growled and turned abruptly on her heel.

Cleo held the boon up so the light reflected off the surface of the coin and onto the door by Freddie's hand, "Oh so you don't _need_ it? I'm sure the entire school will be just eager to know how _I_ got the boon. I wonder what I should tell them? Oh I know, I should tell them about your embarrassing defeat by my hands. I can only imagine how humiliating it will be for you. Oh, but what if word reached the vice principal? I wonder if she would take away all those _other_ boons you think you earned. Ha-ha, the possibilities. Maybe, I should tell everyone how you cried like a lost child looking for her estranged daddy when I beat you. That will have everyone whispering. I wonder if anyone will take you seriously afterwards."

Freddie clawed at the door as she glared over her shoulder, "What do you want to know in exchange for the boon?"

Cleo beamed, "Well I'm glad you asked! I want to know exactly how you managed to sneak out of the school a year early."

Freddie blinked as she turned, "That's it? You'll give me back the boon if I tell you how I did it?"

Cleo held her hand up, "My word is law, if I say I will return it, I will return it."

Freddie put her hands on her hips and rolled her neck, "So say it."

Cleo looked annoyed, "Fine, I Cleo De Nile will return this boon to you in exchange for the humane treatment of my classmates and information on how you, Freddie Facilier, left the island for a day one year early."

Freddie nodded as she smirked and held her hand out, "Well let's see where to begin, oh yes, give me my boon first then I'll talk."

Cleo raised an eyebrow and put her hand on one hip while she shifted her body weight to the opposite foot, "If you want it early, you're going to have to get on your knees, kiss my ring and beg me for it. Ha, I may just have you do that any ways, makes a better deal for me."

Freddie looked at Cleo's hands, " You're not wearing a ring."

Cleo smiled and pointed down, "My toe ring."

Freddie looked down, saw Cleo wiggling her toes and balked, "Information first it is." She rubbed her hands together and grinned with fiendish delight as she recalled the night, "All right, so to make a long story short I took advantage of an opportunity. During the last week of winter semester, we switch dorm rooms from junior to senior hallway. The old senior class is still present, it is the only time of the year when there are two senior classes and I tricked the system. On the night they were supposed to leave, we captured them as they were leaving the hall. We slit their throats, covered ourselves in their blood and wore their bodies like a meat dress. It was the perfect trade, they had four seniors and we had four seniors. Your big sister Nefera was my senior mask, ha!"

Cleo pulled a face, "Oh my _Rah_ , that is disgusting."

Freddie held her hands up, "Hey you wanted to know. Now the ship jumps points throughout the night, and Spectra has that schedule written down. As for anything else, you're on you're on, I don't have anything else to tell you really. Now the boon." She held out her hand. Cleo gazed at her outstretched hand then at her face. Cleo flipped her hair into Freddie's face and started towards the door.

Freddie growled low in her throat and slammed her palm against the door, "Your majesty, I recall you saying your word is law."

Cleo looked over her shoulder by the door and held out her foot, "I recall I said a lot of things."

Freddie glowered and stomped towards her, as she drew near she felt a pulse of magic surge through her. Freddie clenched her fist. What spell circle had she just activated?

Cleo stared at Freddie with a smirk and a raised an eyebrow. Freddie huffed as the order to kneel forced her towards the floor. She, bent at the knee and lightly pecked Cleo's toe ring.

Cleo smirked and tossed the boon onto Freddie's head. Freddie twitched and glared with a scream stuck in her throat as Cleo sashayed out the library door. Freddie was paralyzed on the ground in a light trap. She couldn't use her shadows and she couldn't pursue. The pulse of the spell indicated how long it would last. A few hours, no big deal for all it meant was that she had a few hours to plot the demise of De Nile.

-Twyla-

She flipped to the next page in her book with a sigh, she was worried. Cleo and Ghoulia had been gone for far too long, what if Freddie killed them. Everyone around her had gone on studying like it wasn't a big deal. She frowned, while she wasn't exactly happy with Cleo she didn't want her dead nor did she wish her harm.

The dorm door opened and closed with a clang. Cleo entered and posed dramatically in the entryway of the bed bay. She smiled at the room and cleared her throat, "Fear not loyal subjects, your _queen_ has arrived."

Evie squealed and ran over to Cleo, "Spill, tell me everything."

Faybelle flapped her wings and hovered above her bed, lounging in the air with her head on her folded arms, "Yaaaasss, give us the deets."

Blondie scrunched her face and glared at Faybelle with mild irritation.

Cleo sashayed into the room, "No need to thank me, but feel free. _I_ put that Freddie in her rightful place, below _me._ She was as helpless as a kitten. With my power and Ghoulia's careful planning, I conquered the senior class battle, paving the way to our victory over this school."

She sat down on her bed and leaned back as everyone crowded around her.

Darling sat down next to her, "So what happened, _exactly_?"

Cleo flipped her hair and looked at her nails.

Twyla rolled her eyes and deadpanned, "Oh Cleo. You are the greatest. Please don't leave us in suspense any longer. We cannot bear it. We are all ears."

Cleo smiled and shook with excitement, "Well all right since you _begged_ me."

Twyla threw her head back and rolled her eyes as she scoffed.

Cleo gestured wildly as she recounted the tale, "I was standing in the library, admiring my perfectly manicured nails, when in walks the beast that is Freddie, and let me tell you her split ends were absolutely distracting. If you ask me, I don't think she brushes or moisturizes."

Evie gasped, "Huuuh! Nooooo."

Cleo nodded, "Yes! And her eyebrows, tch those were like spiders trying to crawl off her face."

Blondie scrunched her face up, "Ew!"

Billy rolled his eyes and went back to studying.

Cleo nodded, "I know, Freddie was a mess. But I digress, she walks in pretending she has no idea what I was calling her for and I simply had to remind her."

Twyla rubbed her temples with her hand, "That's because you didn't tell her why you wanted to meet her, only that you were going to meet."

Cleo glowered at Twyla.

Evie giggled and clapped, "Oooh, tell me, tell me tell me. What did you do?"

Cleo extended her arm out and held her hand flat, "I crushed her little world beneath my feet. I let her _think_ she was in control only to shut her down. It was glorious, you should have seen the look of utter despair on her face as I destroyed her. She was practically in tears. And you want to know the best part?"

Evie leaned forward with wide eyes, "What?"

Cleo beamed, "She groveled at my feet and kissed my toe ring. Ha! She was so desperate by the end of our discussion that she kissed my toe ring and begged me for her boon. I think she left some tears on my Boouis Booittons." She held up her foot and modeled her gold platinum wedge sandals.

Evie's gaped at Cleo, "No! No way. For realsies?"

Cleo flipped her hand up and down, "Absolutely for real, she was so desperate. I decided to use that to my advantage. I made her _promise_ never to bother us again. I know, no need to thank me, okay maybe thank me a little. Really."

Darling blinked and smiled as she glanced at everyone, "Oh, imagine a life without Freddie."

Farrah looked up and stared out as if dreaming, "Oh that would be wonderful."

Cleo pointed to herself, "Well imagine no longer, it is reality. _I_ have defeated the beast and ensured our peaceful life for the small remainder of the time here. Now, all we need to do is escape and everything will be as it should be."

Twyla looked at everyone's bright and hopeful faces and sighed deeply, "So you gave Freddie the boon?"

Cleo turned and looked at Twyla, "Of course not. What she got was a light trap replica. Once the trap disperses the coin disappears. Too easy."

Twyla gulped, everyone was looking at her and all she wanted to do was crawl into a shadow, but none were available, "Well, um, what's preventing Freddie from attacking us now that she knows we have her boon?"

Cleo looked annoyed, "Ugh, because I made her _promise_. Your word is law, you know."

Twyla furrowed her eyebrows, " _Your_ word is law, what's stopping Freddie from breaking _her_ word?"

Cleo waved dismissively, "Because _she_ is afraid of _me._ You weren't there, you didn't see the look of fear on her face. She won't be coming around, trust me."

Twyla put her hands out defensively, "It's not that I don't trust you but-"

Cleo glared at Twyla, "Then stop worrying and bask in the glory of my victory."

Faybelle snorted, and sneered down at Twyla, "If you're so worried about Freddie, why don't you go and dance for her. I hear it keeps her calm."

Everyone balked at Faybelle. Faybelle shrugged, "What? It's true. Not my fault Freddie wants to finger."

Abbey crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at Faybelle, "Your mouth needs to shut. Now is time for study."

Ghoulia gestured to the dorm and groaned. Cleo nodded, "Good point Ghoulia, I would hate to get yelled at for not being inspection ready."

Everyone finished studying for the night and shuffled off to complete cleaning chores before showering and going to bed.

It was 0310. Everyone except for Farrah and Twyla were asleep, for Farrah and Twyla were on shift as the entry controllers. The only sound to be heard was the turning of the pages as Farrah and Twyla silently studied while waiting for their shift to end. The air in the dorm was warm that night and she had a hard time keeping her eyes open as the hypnotic sound of turning pages lulled her into a standing doze. She was so tired that she failed to notice the shadows receding under the door and when the handle turned to reveal Freddie, it was too late to do anything.


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which is trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Twenty-Three:

Evening Admonitions

-Freddie-

Freddie smiled and put a finger to her lips as her shadow spirits wrapped shadow cloths around Twyla and Farrah's mouths. She glided into the room while her shadow spirits tied their hands above their heads and attached their tied hands to a horizontal shadow pole which was held up by additional shadows. She chuckled as they stood on tip-toe to relieve the pressure on their shoulders.

She wrapped a hand around their throat as she pressed her flesh-painted lips against a wisteria cheek, "Morning Orchid." She turned and repeated the motion to Farrah, "Hello Spring."

She reached up and gripped their terrified faces and clawed her way down. Red marks marred their skin as she shred their clothes beneath her coffin nails. They were helpless beneath her as they should be. She pursed her lips as she noticed their feet. That would need to change.

She leaned back and nodded to the nearest set of shadow spirits. The spirits lifted Twyla and Farrah's legs to the pole above their heads and tied them to it, leaving them in a hog-tied position at the front entrance of the dorms.

Freddie smirked as she reached up and snatched them by the hair, "Sit tight, I'll be right back."

She glanced up at the shadow spirits that were holding onto the pole Twyla and Farrah were attached to and spun her arms in circular motions. The spirits nodded and pulled shadow chakrams out of their mouths and shoved the chakrams in the wall to secure the pole in place. Freddie satisfied with their position, snuck around the corner to the bed bay and looked around.

She was in high spirits. She had the element of surprise, perfect for exacting revenge on the class that _dared_ renege on a bargain. If there was one thing in the world Freddie hated more than anything it was being screwed over in a deal. The year had been great up until that business in the library, she had met all of her goals, become class leader, kept all underclassman in line, she had even been rewarded for her efforts and that bratty _De Nile_ had dared to try and control her. And then there was Evie spilling her secrets, she would need to be reminded of what happens to those who try out dance the shadows.

She glanced around the room and tried to decide how she was going to attack. Should she wake everyone up and make them fear her or should she wake their ring leader and make an example out of her. She squinted at the closest shadow spirit, it created a shadow snake and chopped off the head. Freddie grinned, leader it was then.

She motioned for the spirits to find Cleo. They zoomed through the room and pointed down at Cleo's sleeping form. Freddie stood in the arch of the bed bay and held her arms out. Several shadow spirits lifter her by the arms and carried her over to Cleo, placing her gently on the floor. As she stared down at Cleo more spirits formed shadow items for her to use. She shook her head at all of the sharp weapons but when they pulled out a shadow pillow case she paused.

 _An old-fashioned beat down for an old-fashioned queen._ She smiled, grabbed it, and filled it with shadow soap. Two shadows gently pulled the covers over Cleo's head to seal her in, she climbed onto the bed and started swinging.

Cleo screamed out and everyone started to wake. Freddie leapt off of Cleo and grabbed the sharp weapons previously created and threw. A pick ax lodged into the side of Crecha and she flew backwards into Abbey. Electricity sparked everywhere. It hit Frankie and made an electric field around Lagoona, Billy, and Abbey knocking them out.

A hatchet bounced off of Robecca's forehead and landed deep in the meat of Blondie's leg, Blondie screeched in pain as Robecca bent to help her. Two daggers flew through the air and pinned Faybelle by the wings into the wall. Two ice picks pierced Darling's arm pinning her to the bed. A heavy chain mace spun through the air. It wrapped around Evie and smashed into the back of her skull. A few shadows dragged her around by her feet leaving a trail of blood. Ghoulia, slow to rise out of bed, groaned in shock and shuffled towards her downed classmates.

Freddie turned around just as Cleo fell out of the bed coughing up dark blood-colored sand. Freddie smirked as a shadow spirit handed her a large shadow diamond ring. _A beautiful taste of irony._ She put it on and snapped her fingers. The shadow spirits grabbed everyone in the dorm whether conscience or not and lined them up in front of Freddie.

She was glad to have a captive audience as she lifted Cleo up by the hair, "Hello sunshine." She body slammed Cleo onto the ground and stomped into Cleo's chest, an audible crunch was heard. More sand flew from Cleo's mouth as she cried out in pain.

Freddie grinned with fiendish delight as she looked down at Cleo, "So _queenie_ , where is your power now, hmm? Not so tough without all your preplanned traps and tricks, are you? Peh, I admire your skill but you don't know how to play the game. Don't worry, I'm going to pound the rules right into that sassy little mouth of yours. As for the rest of you…"

She cracked her knuckles, "…watch and learn."

She jumped and gripped her feet as she knee-slammed into Cleo's chest. Her eyes widened in surprise as her knees sank into shifting sands. Cleo's eyes rolled into the back of her head.

Freddie snatched a handful of Cleo's hair and pulled her face close to her own, "Oh no, no sleep for you, _queenie_ but you have my permission to kiss _this_ ring." Her fist connected with bone.

Her elation rose as the ring pushed Cleo's jaw into her skull. This was where she could do the most damage. Blood sand, skin, muscle and bone were exposed as her fist crunched into Cleo's flesh. Only when Cleo's jaw fell onto the ground did Freddie cease her assault. She stood up. Shook the blood-sand and muscle off her hands and smirked, "Loyal subjects, here's your self-appointed queen. Any complaints please feel free to express them now. I, your _true_ queen, will gladly address your concerns."

Darling narrowed her eyes as blood dripped down her arm, "You won't get away with this."

Freddie laughed and snapped her fingers. The spirits holding the class flipped them over and slammed everyone head first onto the floor with an audible crunch. She put her hands on her hips and stepped over Cleo's unconscious form, "I already did."

She walked over to Cleo's trunk and kicked it open. Her shadow spirits searched the trunk and produced her boon. She smiled as she pocketed the coin and waved for her shadow spirits to follow.

The spirits laughed jovially and followed her out of the bed bay. When Freddie rounded the corner, she spotted Farrah and Twyla still hog tied with their heads together.

Freddie rubbed her hands together and licked her teeth with glee, "Oh I almost forgot about my _peaches_." She skipped over to Farrah and Twyla and smacked them both on the rear, "Ripe, plump and juicy. Hahaha."

Her fingers struck a pen on the entry controller podium and knocked it onto the ground. As she picked it up she leered, "My oh my, how rude of me. I almost forgot about this little log book. You two can't possibly fill out an incident report form in that position. Don't worry, I'll help you out."

She balanced the pen between two fingers as she pulled Twyla and Farrah close together. When they were bum to bum the shadow spirits tied them together at the waist. Freddie took the pen and wrote _Freddie was here_ across Farrah and Twyla's joined cheeks.

She tossed the pen down and giggled as she admired her handywork, "I'm sure the LT will be amused when she reads this. Hmmm, something is missing. Oh yes!"

She leaned forward and placed her honey-wheat colored lipstick mark underneath the _here_ on Twyla's left cheek. She cackled as she turned and ran from the dorm. She left the door open and took the stairs two at a time. Reveille played. _Time for PTV. I'll tell O'Malley why they're not in class. She'll get a kick out of it. She might even be in such a good mood she forgets to teach the class. Free time for me. I truly am a genius._

-Twyla-

Two weeks later when LT Montoya finally released their class, Twyla and crew solemnly shuffled into their dorm.

Cleo seethed with rage when she looked at her things still tossed on the ground from the night of the incident. She stood up and began pacing the dorm in a huff, "Never in all my life have I ever been so _humiliated_. This injustice cannot stand. The nerve of that…that beast! Not only is she a violent murderous psychopathic control freak but she is also a _liar_ of all things. Breaking her word!"

Twyla followed Cleo with her eyes, "I hate to say I told you so but-"

Cleo whirled around and snarled, "Then don't! You didn't say anything about Freddie being a _liar_ until well after I had already dealt with her in the library; thus your, _I told you so_ , is rendered moot."

Twyla pointed at her, "Uhh, no. I told you before you left to just give Freddie the boon but you decided to antagonize her all on your _own_ , and for what. So you could claim to be a _queen_ of the people."

Cleo balled her hands into fist at her side and stomped over to her, "How _dare_ you accuse me of negligence. All I ever do is for my people! Every consequence was considered, it's not my fault you didn't provide amble information to back up your claims."

Twyla jumped off her bed and stood toe to toe with Cleo, eyes narrowed, "Oh really? Every consequence was considered? Like how you _considered_ saving your own neck when you switched that hammer handle with me? Like how you _considered_ admitting your guilt as _I_ was gutted with a _SWORD_. Yeah, you're real considerate Cleo. Considerate of yourself. That's all you ever cared about, and that's why _you_ were in the infirmary with all of _us_. Because you didn't _consider_ the consequences."

Cleo's eyes widened as she leaned back; tears brimmed in her eyes as she turned her body away from Twyla and hugged herself, "I…I apologize. Not a day goes by that I don't regret what happened to you. I…I wronged you that day. I should have remained calm but I didn't. I should have never switched the handles but it happened. I could have admitted that it was I that concussed her but I remained silent and, in my silence, I watched you suffer. I _failed_ to speak and you bore my guilt with your gut. I failed to save you and I failed my sworn oath to protect the people."

She looked up and peered around the room, "I…I failed all of you, can you forgive me?"

Faybelle snorted and rolled her eyes, "Uhhh, no. Your weak illusions nearly killed us."

Cleo's lip trembled and she covered her face as tears rolled down her cheeks. Ghoulia groaned sympathetically as she walked over and hugged Cleo. Cleo bawled loudly and allowed Ghoulia to led her to sit next to Frankie and Crecha.

Crecha raised an eyebrow, "Wow, rude. Do you even have a heart Faybelle?"

Faybelle raised her foot to eye level as she leaned back and hovered above her bed, "Ahh, yeah but I don't have time pamper weak queens. I can't be nice all the time."

Abbey lowered her eyelids, "You nice _none_ of time."

Farrah wrung her hands, "I…I think…I think, we've all been through a tough ordeal and our feelings are high and we just need to breathe. Perhaps some breathing exercises?" She glanced around at everyone and cringe-smiled, "Maybe…no?"

Billy became visible as he sat down next to her and smiled, "Good idea Farrah. I think we should all just take a break from one another. Give each other some space, we have been together twenty-four seven since we got here."

Blondie rolled her eyes and snorted, "And where will we go, hmm? A toilet stall? The supply closet? Let's face it, we're stuck with one another until we escape."

Darling looked down her nose, "Blondie, you know what he meant. Besides I think if _you_ hid in a closet for a while you would be more _bearable_."

Frankie glanced nervously back and forth between everyone as her bolts sparked dangerously, "Oh my ghoul, no need to fall apart at the seams guys, please don't fight."

Robecca walked over to Frankie and sat down beside her, "It's all right Frankie, I think everyone is just figuring out where to go from here, really."

Blondie leaned forward, placing the weight of her head in her hands, "Psh, you two never figure _anything_ out. As far as I can tell you two _want_ to be here."

Robecca gaped at Blondie, "Wh…what? How can you say that…that is the most…well I _never_!"

Frankie's bolts sparked and a shock wave went through the occupants of the room. All were thrown to the ground convulsing. When the sparks subsided, Frankie grimaced, "Sorry…I don't really like arguing. And come on guys, we're friends here. Why are we attacking each other?"

She stood up and walked around, "The way I see it, we are the luckiest group of students here. Sure, we were kidnapped and forced into piracy but we have each other. I honestly don't know what I would have done if I didn't have Cleo, or Ghoulia or my sister here with me. Faybelle you have _friends_ here. Friends you can depend on and who depend on you. We can all depend on each other, come on guys, I know it's rough but I'm confident we can overcome this place and escape."

Lagoona grunted as she rose from the ground and shuffled towards the latrine with smoke rising from her scales, "Wonderful speech mate, beautiful really. Keep talking, I'm just going to go shower now. That little shock there dried out me scales."

Evie rolled off the ground and sat up, "Wooo, I'll tell you one thing. Never a dull moment around here, I think I'm developing a serious case of astraphobia though."

She pulled her hand mirror out of her pocket and opened it, "Oh good, my mirror isn't broken, Uhhh, I have major static hair. Not a _good_ look, but I think I pull it off somehow. Oh who am I kidding, I pull off any look." She put her mirror away and stood up with a bright smile, "Well, now that we've gotten _that_ out of our system. How about we listen to _me_. Now hear me out, our ideas so far have been pretty _bad_. A cursed coin here-"

Cleo burst into a wailing cry that made the beds shake a little.

Evie winced as she smiled and continued, "-an escape hatch there, but no plans that really worked. And I think I know why, we have been going about this all the wrong way. Think about it guys, what do we need to escape? We need _information_. And where can information be found? The library."

Robecca tilted her head, "But we don't have permission to use the library."

Evie held her hand up, "I know, but we do have a Billy."

Billy raised a brow "Ahhh, okay but what will I be looking for in there?"

Evie clasped her hands and pointed at him, "Glad you asked. You, my very invisible friend, will be looking for maps, preferably of our current location and our future destinations. We may not have cut out an escape hatch but there _is_ an emergency row boat on Freddie's ship. If we have a map, we can make plans from there. But we _will_ need to ensure that no one else gets hurt while looking this stuff up. So, what I propose is a pairing system. We pair up and use hand signals to warn each other when someone is coming and then hide. What do you think?"

Robecca folded her hands over her knees, "One little problem, how are we going to get on the ship?"

Evie smiled and nodded, "Uh huh good question. Good question…" Her smile dropped and she tapped her chin, "Uhhh, we'll walk…"

Blondie jumped up, "Walking? How about we actually get a good look at the docks first. Does anyone actually remember what it looks like? Was there a security detail out there, was there a weird trap system? Remember anything at all?"

Head shaking and mumbles of _no_ resounded throughout the room. Blondie pursed her lips, folded her arms and chickened her neck, "That's what I thought. Perhaps Lagoona and I can go get a good look at it while Billy boy does his thing in the library."

Darling sat up, crossed her legs and played with the hem of her skirt, "Well, I should go with Billy as we would greatly benefit from each other…our _abilities,_ our abilities would greatly benefit each other. Him being invisible and all."

Billy smiled at Darling as he flipped his bangs and squared his shoulders, "Sounds good to me."

Evie put her hands together, "Perfect, got team Big D in the library and team Lil' B on the docks. Everyone else will be lookouts. Let's see, who should pair together…"

Billy raised an eyebrow, "Big D?"

Evie waved dismissively, "Yeah B and D, Billy and Darling, team Big D. This makes perfectly logical sense."

Billy chuckled, "Team Big D it is."

Crecha shook her head, "I'll pair with Frankie, if we are attacked we can charge each other up."

Frankie sighed, "I mean I guess, though I was hoping to pair with Robecca to be sure she keeps a charge."

Crecha placed a hand on Frankie's shoulder and stared into her eyes, "Frankie, Robecca is a steam robot. Steam isn't good for your bolts. Besides, sisters always have each other's backs. We need to stick together."

Frankie grimaced at Crecha's intense gaze, "All right…"

Farrah folded her hands over her lap, "As my family works under Faybelle's, I should go with her."

Faybelle's head snapped up as she smirked, "Damn right Goodfairy."

Ghoulia groaned pensively. Cleo placed her hands over her heart and smiled, "Oh Ghoulia, of course you'll be with me. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Robecca waved, "Don't want to be a bother Evie, but would you mind pairing with me?"

Evie gasped and pointed to herself, "Me? I would _love_ if you paired with me. I was getting _kind_ of bummed out that no one was volunteering to be with me. I mean, I'm pretty amazing why would you _not_ want to pair with me."

Abbey looked at Twyla, "You paired with me."

Twyla nodded, "All right, but what is the hand signal?"

Evie looked at the ceiling as she tapped her chin with her hand, "Hmmm, oh I know." She raised her elbow to shoulder level and pointed down with her pointer finger as spun her hand in a circle, "This is the signal."

Faybelle scoffed, "What are you like, stirring tea with your finger?"

Evie put her hands on her hips and stepped forward, "Faybelle, if you're not part of the solution you're a part of the problem."

Faybelle fluttered and landed in front of her, "Maybe because all these weak queens keep coming up with dumb plans."

Evie scoffed, "Oh pah-lease Faybelle, you're so weak _babies_ take candy from you."

Faybelle huffed and put her hands on her hips, "Oh yeah well, you're plans are so weak you make apple _pies_ instead of poison apples."

Evie laughed and leaned forward, "Ha! You're so weak the only spell you can cast is a _crying_ spell."

Faybelle leaned forward her hands glowing red, "Let's test that theory."

Evie blinked and pulled out her hand mirror as she fixed her hair, "My theory is that _I_ look good in that red glow, keep it up."

Faybelle stopped glowing and lowered her eyelids, "Seriously?"

Evie closed her mirror and smiled, "Seriously. But whatever after, back to my plan." She sashayed around Faybelle and looked around the room, "Now I propose we put this plan in action next Saturday, really early in the morning when most of the other students are still in bed. We get the info, bring it up to the dorms then grab a late breakfast and chill. What do you think?"

Abbey walked across the room and grabbed a notebook then turned to face everyone, "We should go over plan in more detail. If we do this, it will be a success."

Twyla pulled out her notebook calendar, "Looks like the next free day is December twenty-fourth. Plan for then?"

Evie nodded, "Sounds like a plan. Ooh, I think I'll call the plan Operation Eve of Evie! Since you know, it's on the eve and I'm Evie."

Twyla sighed, "Now that I think about it, we haven't had one holiday since we got here."

Crecha glared, "All the _more_ reason for this plan to be a success."

Twyla grimaced and nodded. As she listened to Abbey, Ghoulia and Evie discussing the details of the plan, her mind wondered back to her simple days at Monster High and to her family back at Boogey Mansion. All her family would be home right about now, fanging out in the shadows, gorging themselves on delicious strawberry dream cheesecake and nightmare roasted chicken. Her mom would have weaved a huge web for all her little cousins to sleep on and connect the web across the entire room, while her dad told stories from his world travels.

She sighed, she missed jumping the world with her dad, if only she could distance jump in shadows like he could. Twyla looked over at Abbey jabbing her pencil at something on the notebook. If this plan worked, if they got what they needed and got out of there, she would cherish every second she got to spend with her family.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which is trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Twenty-Four:

What a Wonderful Life

Morning of the operation, everyone got up and dressed in silence. Twyla watched as her classmates exited the dorm in pairs. Her stomach twisted in knots as she anxiously awaited her turn. Sixty seconds. She and Abbey were to wait sixty seconds before they made their way down. Sixty seconds after the last pair slipped out unnoticed. She glanced at the shadows. Still present. Freddie hadn't summoned them yet, which meant she was still asleep. At least, Twyla hoped she was still asleep.

The door clicked as the last pair exited. Sixty seconds starting now. She glanced at Abbey. Abbey's muscular arms were folded. She stood as a wintery tower, stoic and calm. Twyla envied her. Abbey ticked the time on her bicep with her finger, even her hands had muscles. _How did anyone kidnap this yeti?_

Abbey glanced at her and jerked her chin towards the door, "Is time."

Twyla nodded and followed. They quietly closed the dorm door and turned towards the stairs. Their descent was slow but it had to be. The winding stairs seemed to amplify their steps. Twyla was tempted to descend barefoot to soften the sound. Today the stone was her enemy but despite it all she remained outside the shadow. Her place was here with Abbey. She just wished she had paid more attention during the planning phase. She would have changed partners if she had known that Abbey had volunteered to watch the senior floor. But it was too late now, the mission was under way and Twyla had a job to do.

Abbey stopped on the landing of the senior hallway and nodded to Twyla. Twyla walked to the edge of the landing and threw a salute to Frankie at the bottom of the stairs. She watched as Frankie saluted and tapped Crecha on the shoulder. The signal chain had begun, now all she had to do was wait for results.

Her hand twitched as she stood on the senior floor landing. She gripped her skirt to prevent herself from tapping. She couldn't afford to have her nervous tick give away her position. She glanced at Abbey. Abbey stared diligently down the senior hall. Twyla relaxed a little, of all the partners she could have had Abbey was a solid ghoul. Brave despite everything and dependable.

Twyla turned her attention towards the last flight of stairs where Frankie and Crecha were positioned. She furrowed her brow. They were peering at something down the hallway. Frankie turned and waved at her.

Twyla turned to Abbey and whispered, "I think something went wrong, they want us downstairs." Abbey nodded and followed Twyla.

Once in front of Crecha, Abbey asked, "What wrong?"

Crecha backed away and dashed towards the chow hall, "Don't know, something with the door, we're going to go stand by the chow hall to see if we can see anything."

Abbey huffed, "Keep eye on stairs and shadows. No surprises from that Freddie."

Twyla glanced across the hall at the door. Faybelle was carrying Blondie as she flew upward. Twyla furrowed her brow. _Why is she…? The lock on the door isn't at normal height. That's why Ching used a magical key. Is that what Walker meant? It wouldn't open for me because I didn't have the key. What the-_

As she stared a strange gray mist rolled towards her classmates. They screamed as it swallowed them whole. She covered her mouth with her hand, "I think we should get out of here."

" _I_ think you should stay," drawled the velvet voice of Freddie.

Twyla filled with dread as she turned around.

Freddie leaned against the wall with a smirk. She had no spirits but she didn't need them, "Morning _Babe_ , you're up mighty early, perhaps I need to tuck you back in bed." She pushed off the wall and cracked her knuckles.

A chill rushed past Twyla as Abbey threw the first punch. Her solid right jab and left hook surprised Freddie. She shook her head and retaliated with two swift jabs to Abbey's jaw.

Abbey growled, "I show you heart of true warrior."

Abbey reared back and uppercut Freddie hard in the gut. Ice gushed forth and threw Freddie against the wall. Her body encased in solid ice but she smirked and laughed. Twyla frowned. The laugh didn't belong to Freddie and the pitch of her voice was too high.

When Freddie parted her lips the voice of LT Delahaye spoke, "Private Bominable, that was quite the move. Color me impressed." Her body faded away into a puff a purple smoke that floated out of the ice and flew through the air behind Abbey and Twyla.

Twyla followed the smoke and saw that the mist was now directly behind her and in that mist was an army of fully armed undead skeletons. The skeletons swarmed her and their soulless sockets were the last thing she saw that day.

Two weeks later, Twyla awoke in the infirmary once again. She looked down at herself and sighed. While she was relieved she had no scars, she tired of seeing the underside of Montoya's infirmary beds. She rolled out from under the bed and gathered her things. She knew Montoya would come around to check on her in a few minutes but she was ready to go now. She opened her partition and bumped into a hard chest.

Billy became visible in front of her, "Hey Twyla. Glad to see you're okay. Was just about to come see you."

Twyla glanced around, "How long was I out?"

Billy sighed deeply and put his hands in his pockets as he looked down, "Too long. Ghoulia is still here as well. Poor ghoul can never catch a break. Have you had your final check up with LT Montoya?"

Twyla shrugged, "No but I'm fine."

Billy scoffed, "Twyla, no. Get back in the bed, you know you're not supposed to leave without Montoya's final say."

Twyla rolled her eyes, "I'm fine, it was just a few stab wounds. Nothing that hasn't happened before. Now are you going to stand there and fuss at me or are you going to fill me in on what has been going on since I was out?"

Billy dropped down and lifted Twyla up by her waist as he tossed her over his shoulder, " _You_ haven't been cleared to leave. Back to bed."

Twyla tried kicking him in the chest but he held her legs down. "Hey! Put me down!"

Billy tossed her back onto the infirmary bed, "Gladly. Now stay there until you feel better."

"I imagine my _patient_ must be in fine health to be _tossed around_ like that Private Billy," LT Montoya glided towards the pair with an amused look on her face as she dried her hands on her apron.

Billy stood at attention and LT Montoya waved him away, "Go on, I will let her go when she is ready and as for you Private Boogey…"

LT Montoya put her hands on her hips and looked down at Twyla, "You're free to go but I would highly suggest that whatever it is you and your friends are doing, you take a two-month break from it. I like you, but I don't like seeing you in my infirmary every other day. Okay?"

Twyla mumbled, "Yes ma'am."

LT Montoya nodded and swayed away.

Billy extended his elbow towards Twyla with a smirk and a wink, "May I escort you back to the dorm?"

Twyla batted his arm away. She closed her eyes and turned her nose up as she walked away, "Hmph. You may not."

Billy laughed as he opened the infirmary door. He leaned towards her and grinned, "Are you going to tell me _why_?"

Twyla opened one eye to glance his way. She smiled as she closed her eyes again, "Nope."

Billy stood in front of Twyla, grinning as he refused to move out of her way until she opened her eyes. When she did, he waggled his eyebrows like caterpillars dancing a jig.

Twyla laughed and shoved him away, "Stop it you. Let's get back to the others. What time is it?"

Billy pointed towards the hall and they both walked back towards the dorms, "Well today is January seventh and it is about five o'clock in the morning-"

Twyla noted that it was still dark as they walked, "Why are you visiting the infirmary at five in the morning?"

Billy shrugged, "Couldn't sleep."

Twyla folded her arms, "I see and how is Darling?"

Billy blinked and looked at Twyla, "What? Why? I'm mean she's fine yeah but what about her?"

Twyla stared up at him as they continued up the stairs, "Well you two were together when that whole fiasco happened and you seem to be okay."

Billy nodded in comprehension, "Oh! Right because we were together in the _library_. Right well she's fine, we remained relatively unhurt. When Cleo screamed, I grabbed Darling and hid with her on top of a table. That mist was weird, made my skin crawl." He shuddered, "When it evaporated, we went to check on everyone and we spotted LT Delahaye taking everyone to the infirmary. You guys looked pretty bad, but Darling and I have been working pretty hard in the library. Did you know the books were in color order? I mean who does that."

He opened the dorm door and Twyla walked inside. Once he closed the door Twyla asked, "So were you able to find anything useful?"

Billy shook his head, "Not yet, but I feel like we are getting closer to the solution. If only we had more time to search."

Twyla nodded and walked towards the bed bay, not paying attention to where she was going, She tripped over a trunk, rolled into a shadow and knocked the bunk bed over. The loud clang of cheap metal onto linoleum woke everyone in the room. Twyla crawled out of the shadows, "Sorry."

Billy laughed, "I thought all Boogey monsters could see in the dark?"

Twyla scoffed, "Shut it you, I have perfect dark vision thank you very much."

Faybelle threw her pillow at Twyla, but it missed, "Uhhh, shut up, I was trying to sleep, seriously. Like if you have perfect night vision then what are you doing!"

Twyla rolled her eyes and went to go pick up the bed, Billy assisted her and they righted it together.

Abbey slid out of bed, "You out of infirmary. Good. We have much to discuss."

Faybelle shouted from her bed, "Shut up! And bring me my pillow."

Abbey ignored her and continued, "You remind me of one thing we not think of before. We tried sneaking around in the day but why we not try it at night?"

Lagoona yawned loudly and sat up, "What's that? You got a plan brewing over there?"

Abbey nodded, "Indeed. My plan will be most efficient but it will take time."

Evie sat up and sighed her eyes puffy as though she had been crying, "As long as it doesn't end with us getting stabbed I'm all for it."

Robecca opened her eyes and tilted her head, "Oh Evie, you mustn't beat yourself up over it. No one could have predicted what would happen."

Evie hugged her pillow forlorn, "Everyone got hurt because of _my_ plan."

Robecca furrowed her brow, "Evie…"

Blondie rolled over and gazed at Abbey. She motioned to continue, "Go on."

Abbey put her hands on her hips, "My plan avoids provoking seniors and triggering traps."

Robecca sat up in bed, "Well don't tease us any longer tell us your plan."

Abbey walked and stood so all could see her, "Most important my plan involves everyone."

Farrah lounged on her pillow, "What do you mean? We all did something before."

Abbey shook her head, "Last few plans we rely on one or two people and when plan fail we blame them, my plan use everybody."

Faybelle got up, stomped over and grabbed her pillow as she glared, "We get it all ready, you have a plan. Like, spill already or shut up."

Crecha got up and turned on the lights, "Looks like we won't be going back to sleep anytime soon."

Abbey nodded, "Thank you Crecha. Now, I tell you what I plan."

Faybelle screamed, "Finally," before she spun on her heel and climbed into her bed.

Abbey announced, "We hide in crate."

Billy furrowed his brow, "What?"

Abbey turned towards him, "We hide in crate."

Billy stared at Abbey for a moment but when she remained silent he shook his head, went invisible and climbed into bed.

Darling watched as Billy's covers became invisible before she spoke, "Abbey, may you elaborate on your plan, just a _little_ , please."

Abbey folded her arms and sighed, "We hide in crate. Simple plan is best plan. Night senior class go to leave we hide in food crate they pack us up we leave on boat. When boat stop to kidnap new students for school we get out of crate and escape. No fuss, no muss."

Faybelle sat up in bed, "Ooh, once we get off the ship, we should like, burn it or something so that way no new students will have to come to the school."

Frankie asked, "Ahh, question, ehe where are the crates?"

Abbey blinked, "With the food."

Frankie nodded, "Uh huh and ah, where is the food kept?"

Abbey put her hands on her hip, "In the kitchen."

Frankie nodded, "Uh huh, and you know this how?"

Abbey shrugged, "Common sense. Food stored in kitchen. Kitchen part of chow hall. Chow hall across from docks. We go, we hide, we escape."

Frankie nodded, "Uh huh."

Abbey sighed as she closed her eyes and pinched her nose bridge, "I see I have to explain." She walked over and sat down next to Frankie, "We know Freddie sails ship made of wood. Wood ships take long time to go. They will need food to make a long journey. On the night they leave, we go to the kitchen, hide in crates and they load us on ship. With me so far?"

Frankie nodded, "Oh I'm with you, I was just wondering how you _know_ the crates will be big enough to hide in, what if it's just a small crate. What if there is only one medium sized crate? There are a lot of things you're not considering. I mean yeah, it's a good plan but those are some pretty big details to just skim over."

Abbey nodded, "Well then we will find those things out."

Crecha raised an eyebrow, "How?" Abbey sighed.

Cleo sat up and posed against her bed frame, "I believe I can help with that."

Everyone turned and looked at Cleo, Twyla rolled her eyes and curled into the shadow underneath her bed.

Evie sat up in bed and looked at Cleo hopeful, "Oh?"

Cleo nodded, "Oh yes, today is Saturday free day, and we are up ridiculously early, I could just ask Ensign Cookie for all the details, she will tell me. I have a _way_ with people."

Blondie looked at her nails, "I hope your _persuasion_ spell is more effective than Faybelle's stupid cheer."

Faybelle narrowed her eyes as she slowly turned her head towards Blondie and growled through clenched teeth, "For your information _Blondie_ my spells are more effective when I cheer them, not my fault that the mist was a _necromancy_ spell."

Blondie waved dismissively at Faybelle, "Likely excuse. Any ways, Cleo please do ask, because if those crates are big enough for us to hide in, I think we may have found the perfect plan."

Cleo flipped her hair and smiled, "Naturally, it is up to _me_ to save this plan but I will do it for all of you."

Twyla muttered under her breath, "Just shut _up_ for all of us."

Robecca raised her hand, "Excuse me, hate to be a bother but how long will the journey take? Because if it is really far away to our homes and Freddie only packs enough food for four then won't we be in a bit of a bind when Freddie goes to open a crate and we have eaten through half her supplies?"

Billy became visible, "Yeah that's the mystery of the thing. We've been trying to find maps with the right information and we can't find it. And it's not like we haven't found maps because we have found plenty, right Darling?"

Darling nodded, "Indeed we have. All kinds of maps, years after years' worth of maps. Some of the maps date back to 1642, so someone updates the library's map collection. But none of the maps have our kingdoms, or our home towns or familiar city names. I have a theory but it will require some _deep_ digging in the library and Billy and I would need a lot of time in that library trying out and testing it."

Billy smiled down at Darling, "Yeah, we're going to need to spend a lot of time _researching_ that. But…" He looked at Robecca, "…to answer your question we would need to figure out the exact distance from here to home, then calculate the average amount of food for ourselves plus Freddie and crew. Then we would have to ensure that Freddie actually does load all the crates onto the ship, if she doesn't load the extras we won't have enough to get by. Cleo are you able to persuade people from a distance or is it only through conversation?"

Cleo placed her hand on her clavicle, "Oh my Rah, no. Only through direct speech or spell circles and even then that Freddie is really hard to persuade. I had that library covered floor to ceiling in spell circles and that girl still tried to kill me."

Twyla popped out of Cleo's shadow and inquired, "Didn't you say, you crushed Freddie's little world, in the library? Why don't you tell us what really happened?"

Cleo jumped then glared, "Could you _not_ use my shadow as a convenient mode of transportation? And I know what I _said_ , tch."

Twyla lowered her eyes, "And the truth is…"

Cleo folded her arms and pouted, "Truth is, Freddie was really strong okay? You satisfied? Huuuuh. I exhausted myself layering all my spells. I set it up so that way all she had to do was walk in the door and she would become putty in my hands, but it didn't work. She still used her knives, she still used her shadows, she still punched me. The only spell that did work was my _persuasion_ spell, which I'm glad it did. When she crossed the room and stepped into the spell circle, I swear she seemed like she was going to stab me. By the time I left the library I was exhausted, if Ghoulia hadn't been there I would still be lying on the floor just outside the library door."

Blondie shrugged, "Well, at least you _know_ that spell will work."

Cleo nodded, "I know, such a relief. I can see now though why my sister Petra never fought Freddie. Freddie is really strong."

Twyla slid into Cleo's shadow and curled back under the covers of her own bed, "No sense in stressing about things we can't change. Thanks for telling the truth Cleo, even if it did take a while."

Cleo looked in Twyla's direction, "Umm, thanks. Wherever you are." She got out of bed, grabbed her makeup case out of her trunk and turned off the dorm light as she walked towards the latrine.

Twyla popped out of Cleo's shadow and asked, "What are you doing?"

Cleo jumped, turned around, and held up her makeup case, "While it's easy to be persuasive when you look as good as _me_ , I'm just ensuring that I am walking perfection and perfection takes time." She glanced around the room, "Blondie may I borrow your DeVil boots, they look positively to die for."

Blondie hopped out of bed and went to her trunk, "Absolutely and I know the pair that will fit you just right."

Faybelle scoffed, "DeVil brand boots are the most expensive shoes in the world, how could _you_ afford them?"

Blondie lifted a pair of bold open-toed boots as she smiled, "Because I'm a royal." She handed the boots to Cleo. Twyla furrowed her brow, the boots were cute but she didn't see what the big deal was and the Dalmatian spot pattern on the sole was a bit much.

Cleo looked Twyla up and down, "Would you be a doll and grab a few of my dresses preferably my Maulentino dress, the dark brown one with the high mandarin collar and the mesh and lace bat sleeves. Oh and what size shoe do you wear?"

Twyla raised a brow, "Uhh, size 6, why?"

Cleo beamed, "Perfect, grab the strappy Jenny Chews and the Manolo Brainsick booties, it just might work." She briskly strode into the latrine.

Twyla thoroughly confused glanced over at Frankie.

Frankie smiled, "Go on, Cleo's makeovers are the best."

Twyla stared at a shadow then looked at Cleo's trunk and sighed, "Maybe I should have just left her alone." She heard the clatter of Cleo setting up her makeup case and humming in the latrine.

She sighed deeply as she grabbed several dresses and shoes including the one's Cleo requested. She walked into the latrine for three grueling hours of trying on clothes, fixing her hair and doing her make up.

Once finished Twyla followed Cleo out the dorm and downstairs to the chow hall. She envied everyone else still sleeping in bed but Cleo had picked her to be her battle buddy. She suspected the makeover was Cleo's way of apologizing for the stabbing incident. She just wished Cleo was more of a private apologist instead of a let-the-world-know-I'm-sorry-so-they-can-applaud-me kind of ghoul.

The chow hall as per usual early on Saturday morning was empty which made it easy for Cleo to cast her spell. She raised her hands in the air, a blast of light burst forth from her open palm and hit the ceiling. It spread quickly until the entire room glowed brighter. She pointed her hand at the floor and cast it again.

Cleo flipped her hair and stepped forward, "Light my path and guide my steps, heaven above smile upon me and grant me favor."

The room stopped glowing but Twyla noticed that Cleo seemed to radiate her own light; curious she asked, "So did you make it disappear? How does this work?"

Cleo turned and looked at Twyla, held her hand out, "You are in my spell circle right now. Want proof? Kiss my hand."

Twyla looked at Cleo's hand. It was weird, she knew she was under a spell, and yet she found herself leaning forward and kissing her hand. The moment she kissed it though she became angry and glared, "I don't need a demonstration thanks."

Cleo pulled back, "Why are you so angry? Is that a shadow thing? Freddie got more and more aggravated every time I suggested something."

Twyla folded her arms, "It's not a shadow thing, it's a don't make me do things I don't want to do, thing."

Cleo squinted at Twyla through her long false lashes, "All right, let me know if you become more aggravated while standing in my spell circle."

Twyla grunted, "I will."

Cleo side-stepped away from Twyla. Her heels clicked across the tiled floor as she walked. She grabbed a tray, got in line and smiled brightly at the lunch lady, "Morning ma'am, is Ensign Cookie in today? I would simply love to compliment her on this wonderful spread."

The lunch lady smiled back, "Why yes, Grammy Vidalia back there in the kitchen cooking up all kinds of goods, I'll tell her you said as much."

Cleo batted her eyelashes, "Oh but I must insist that I tell her directly. Please I _really_ want her to know how much I appreciate her."

Twyla felt the urge retrieve Ensign Cookie herself, and it irritated her even more. Cleo could have warned her about the radius of the spell _before_ dragging her along.

The lunch lady threw a towel over her shoulder, "Well all right. You just sit tight now; I'll go fetch her for ya."

The lunch lady walked through the double door behind her and a short while later Ensign Cookie emerged, her face screwed up in agitation, "Who the hell is calling me? Is it you girl? What do you want? I got twelve pots of grits back there and I ain't got no time for flowery words."

Cleo forced a smile as she spoke through clenched teeth, "I wanted to compliment you on your cooking."

Ensign Cookie perked up and smiled then, "Oh! Why thank you, ain't you 'bout the sweetest thing."

Cleo's smile dropped a fraction as she let out a breath. She looked at the ground and mumbled, "Oh thank Rah." She looked back up and smiled, "So Ensign Cookie, where do you _keep_ such yummy food?"

Ensign Cookie pointed behind herself, "The fridge."

Cleo blinked rapidly, her smile never falling, "Uh huh, okay more specifically where do you store large crates of food, crates preferably the size of a small person."

Twyla balked and whispered, "What are you doing?"

Cleo whispered through her teeth, "I am trying to get her to tell me something."

Ensign Cookie raised an eyebrow, "Only crates that size is kept in Ching's office, Ching handles all the shipping invoices for the island. Or in Delahaye's office, course those crates probably still have people _in_ them. Now we do have large barrels full of dry food goods that we store in the cellar which ironically enough is completely underwater."

Cleo and Twyla looked at each other then back at Ensign Cookie. Cleo smiled, "So are the dry food goods in the cellar loaded onto ships, like say the senior ship when they graduate?"

Ensign Cookie nodded, "Yeah, it's loaded. They turn in their shipping invoice to Ching and Ching comes in here gives us the list and we go down to the cellars and move it all up and place it in the chow hall. Seniors job to come, pick it up and load it onto the ship."

Cleo leaned forward, "And _when_ are the barrels brought up from the cellars?"

Ensign Cookie shrugged, "Don't know, depends on the class. That lead girl this year, uh what's her name…"

Twyla leaned forward, "Freddie."

Ensign pointed, "Yeah, Freddie, she seemed pretty uptight about her schedule, I told her it will have to be ready no later than February twenty-fifth, otherwise we wouldn't have enough food at the school to provide a whole ship with for four years journey."

Cleo and Twyla gasped, "Four year's journey?"

Ensign Cookie nodded, "Of course, now are you quite done asking me questions, I have grits to get to."

Cleo looked at the ground, Twyla followed her gaze. She noticed immediately that Cleo had lost the extra glow. Cleo grimaced and looked back up at Ensign Cookie, "Thank you ma'am, I greatly appreciate your cooking."

Ensign Cookie turned on her heel and walked through the double doors, "Whatever."

The lunch lady stepped up and pointed to the nearest item, "You want this?"

Cleo sighed, "No ma'am."

Twyla and Cleo went through the line and ate their food in awkward silence. Twyla not accustomed to wearing gold chain chokers removed the jewelry to continue eating.

Cleo sighed when Twyla put it on the table, "Gold is such a good look for you. You should keep it."

Twyla shrugged, "Nah, it's okay. Although I might keep these shoes, they are super cute."

Cleo and Twyla giggled. Just then the chow hall door opened and a few of their classmates went through the line. Once all were seated and eating Twyla informed everyone of what they had learned.

Abbey nodded, "What you say is good. But that means we need to get the schedule from the seniors. Freddie is best if we avoid, Spectra is a good ghoul. We ask Spectra, as for these shipping crates we need to see size to know how much food it hold, see if we can make room for us. As for calculations, we will need those calculations completed, four years journey long time. I did not think we had sailed for that long but it seems we did, so find the maps in library take to Ghoulia in infirmary and she calculate for us. We then get Spectra to inflate numbers for her ship and boom we hide, we eat, we get home. We do all this Friday evening, that way it night time. Everyone understand?"

Everyone nodded and finished their meal. Twyla was stoked. _This could work. This could actually work. Freddie took advantage of the senior rule to leave before she was supposed to, perhaps we could take advantage of the lack of a class. We can work the system just like she did and we don't have to kill anyone to do it._


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which is trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Twenty-Five:

Sleeping Beasty

Twyla buzzed with excitement during the rest of the week as everyone discussed what they could contribute to the plan. Ghoulia got out of the infirmary a few days before the plan was to be put into motion which boosted everyone's confidence. Evie named the plan _Operation Eve of Evie_ _Shadow Ops_ , and though most protested the name it stuck.

Soon it was Friday night and taps played to signal the duty day was over. Everyone had gathered around the entry control podium to check over their equipment, which mostly consisted of writing materials, colored paper, flashlights and messenger bags.

Twyla smiled as the shadows returned. She proudly announced, "Freddie returned the shadows, looks like we're good to go."

Lagoona nodded, "Good luck out there mates, and be careful."

Darling sighed, "I hate that you and Abbey will be up here by yourselves."

Lagoona waved dismissively, "No worries, love. Besides we need to be here in case we get raided remember?"

Darling hugged her, "You be careful."

Lagoona hugged back, "I will, thanks, you take care okay."

Darling leaned back, "I will."

Billy stood back with his hands in his pockets, "Farrah, link us up. The sooner we get this done the better."

Farrah nodded and shrank down to the size of an average hand. Silver fairy dust littered the floor where she fluttered. She zoomed from person to person and placed a drop of what looked like honey behind everyone's ears. Farrah, still small, asked, "Can everyone hear me?"

Abbey touched a finger to the honey, "Loud and clear."

Farrah clapped, "Good, I'm so glad that worked. I've only ever done that once before."

Abbey asked, "Will you still be able to cast the spell that makes it look like everyone is in bed?"

Farrah waggled her small wand, "Yes, that I can do. As long as I have a link to the room I can cast the _glamour_ spell, just make sure to distract whoever walks in, I'm pretty sure I'll be easy to spot casting spells."

Lagoona pointed to Abbey and herself, "Oh I'm sure old Abbey girl here can think quick on her feet. If we need a glamour spell, I'll probably be the one to call you."

Blondie poked Faybelle in the side, "You ready to go Faybelle?"

Faybelle scoffed, "I was born ready, Blondie. Let's go." She hovered still normal-sized, above the ground behind Blondie with Farrah buzzing beside her head.

Billy went invisible and opened the door, Twyla linked arms with Blondie who linked hands with everyone in the room. They nodded and Twyla reached out her hand. Billy took hold of her. His scales rustled against her skin as she was made one with her surroundings. She didn't have long to contemplate her new state of invisibility as he pulled them out into the hallway and down the stairs.

Upon arrival to the senior floor landing, Faybelle let go of everyone's hand and did her cheer, "They can't hear us, they can't see, cloud of darkness cover me."

A dark cloud filled with sinister glowing yellow magic flooded the hall and seeped under the doors of the seniors. Faybelle shrank to the size of a hand. Indigo fairy dust poured onto the floor as she fluttered in place, "Get going guys, that sleeping spell will only hold for 100 minutes."

Darling, Evie and Robecca headed down the stairs towards the library. Cleo, Ghoulia, Frankie and Crecha headed towards the chow hall. Farrah and Faybelle remained in shrunken form. Their task was to fly around the school acting as _eyes in the sky,_ warning anyone of approaching enemies. Though Twyla feared their fairy dust would give away their position.

Billy, Blondie and Twyla donned their cloth face-wraps as they crept down the senior hall. Blondie, while invisible, pulled a hairpin from her bangs and proceeded to unlock the door to Spectra's room.

The room was smaller than Twyla expected as they entered. Billy let go of her hand and they became visible. They scanned the room for Spectra. As Spectra was a ghost she didn't sleep in traditional sleeping places. Twyla opened the trunk at the foot bed and pulled out books. Billy went straight to the closet door and opened it. There floating with eyes wide open was Spectra.

Billy announced, "Here she is."

Twyla turned, "Well, wake her up."

Billy's posture became rigid as he went invisible. Twyla watched and waited for waking a ghost could have catastrophic results if done improperly. However she knew if anyone could do it, it was Billy. He had a pretty serious relationship with a banshee back at Monster High. The vapors of Spectra's arm condensed as though in a container. Once her arm was partially solidified she was moved back and forth. When Spectra opened her eyes, Billy became visible in front of her.

Spectra gasped, "Oh my ghost, Billy! What are you doing here?" She blushed and sank into the floor, leaving only her eyes above ground, "Why are you in my room?"

Abbey's voice came in loud and clear through the honey drop, "Everyone in position?"

Billy looked at Spectra, and touched a finger to the drop, "Yeah, here with Spectra right now."

Cleo's voice chimed in, "We are almost in the cellars, if _Frankie_ would just open the door."

A buzzing sound came in over the drop, "Just give me a second, almost got it open."

Abbey yelled through the drop, "Frankie, what you do? Is there not a key hanging by the door?"

Spectra floated out of the floor and examined Billy. When she spotted the drop she raised an eyebrow and pointed, "What is that? Some type of communication device?"

Billy nodded and let go of the drop, "Yeah, pretty neat huh."

Spectra touched it, "I'll say. Fascinating."

Abbey buzzed back in, "Is that Spectra, how she get drop?"

Twyla touched the drop, "She's touching Billy's. I don't think she can hear you though."

Spectra let go, "What? Was someone talking just now?"

Evie's voice lilted over the network, "In the library guys. Didn't want to talk in the hall. Also seriously Frankie the key should have been right by the door. Or behind the door but it was there."

Cleo growled out, "Oh there was a key, it was in a cup above the sink and _Frankie_ fell apart! So now we are currently opening the sink to get the key that Frankie dropped."

Ghoulia groaned. Cleo sucked her teeth, "Tch, well it is about time Ghoulia. Give it to me, no one else will mess this up. AHHHHH!"

Billy, Blondie and Twyla winced as Cleo's scream rang out.

Spectra tilted her head to the side, "What is happening now?"

Billy waved dismissively, "Just Cleo screaming about _something_. Any ways, I was hoping to ask you a few things."

Spectra nodded and put her hand under her chin, "I see, all this to talk to _me_ Billy?"

Billy put his hands in his pockets, "Uh yeah. Yeah, we need the shipment invoice and schedule for your ship."

Spectra floated closer to him, "Oh, really? You enter my boudoir, late at night and bring your friends. Do you honestly expect me to believe that was all you came for? Billy, I know there's something _else_ you wanted to talk to me about."

Billy raised an eyebrow, "Uhhh nope. Just the whole shipment thing."

Spectra sighed as she floated through Billy to sit on her bed, "I'm afraid I don't have anything to tell you. Freddie has been extra secretive about the shipping schedule and she still hasn't submitted the form. If you want to know the schedule, you'll have to get it from Freddie. Sorry you came all this way for nothing."

Twyla looked back and forth between the two, "Is there something I'm missing here?"

Spectra crossed her legs and folded her hands over her knee as she looked at the floor, "Well you know, Billy and I used to be a _thing_. I was hoping…but it doesn't matter."

Twyla turned and looked at him, "Oh?"

Billy shrugged, "I'm solid. It was kind of hard to…"

"Hold hands," Spectra gave him a pointed look.

Billy smiled, "Yeah, hold hands."

Twyla raised an eyebrow, "It sounds like you resolved the whole _hand_ holding problem."

Spectra smirked coyly from her bed, "Oh yes. We resolved that problem nicely."

Billy blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Not here for that."

Spectra twirled a strand of hair with her finger, "Oh Billy, you know I see right through you."

Robecca chimed up on the network, "Errr, hello. Um Abbey, we have a bit of news in regards to the map situation."

Abbey buzzed in, "Go on."

Robecca responded, "Well, Darling surmised the main reason we can't find any maps that display our home of origin is because our home of origin does not exist in this world."

Twyla pushed the honey drop, "What? What are you talking about?"

Evie chimed in, "Well _RED_ team is here with the news that gives you the blues in this hizz-ouse."

Cleo growled out, "For the love of all things holy _never_ say that again Evie."

Billy pushed the drop, "Is everything okay by the way, you were screaming in my ear a few minutes ago."

Cleo punched up, "I did not scream in _your_ ear. I was merely surprised by the size of a certain spider. Any ways, yes, we are down in the cellar and Ghoulia is nerding about with her calculations. We should be finished soon and making our way back upstairs."

Evie laughed, "Could have fooled me, Cleo. We might have to start calling you the _scream_ queen with the way you were caterwauling in _my_ ear."

Lagoona chimed in, "Oi mates, limit the chatter here. Glad to hear Ghoulia's hard at work, now Robecca give me your news then Twyla give me a report all right?"

Everyone spoke at the same time, "Got it."

Lagoona groaned, "Missing the point, mates."

Robecca spoke up, "I heard you Lagoona and as I was saying this island is in a completely different world from ours. If you will recall on the day Freddie got her award, the captain said the Freddie went to eight places in one night. Obviously, Monster High, Ever After High and Auradon Prep were among the locations visited but what you didn't know was that these were all part of different worlds. We are currently in a world called Uwa, commonly known as _Earth_. Monster High is located in the world of Netvor which we call _Unearth_ while the Fairy Tale schools are located in the world of _Faireterra_. Now, what we are unsure of is the amount of time it takes to get there. Yes, the captain _said_ it was all one night but the ensign said the ship is packed for a four-year journey. We can only guess that traveling between worlds means traveling through a bit of time as well. Either way, we will literally be sitting in the hold waiting for the ship to reach land."

Faybelle chimed in, "I don't even know how I feel right now. I think I need to lay down."

Spectra floated over to Billy and traced his jawline with her finger causing Billy for just a second to have the same ghostly glow that she had. Billy turned his head to look up at her and she smiled and giggled.

Twyla rolled her eyes at the exchange and tapped the drop, "So, I have a bit of bad news as well."

Abbey grunted, "Say it."

Twyla gagged as Billy and Spectra rubbed noses, "Ugh. I think I'm going to barf. Any ways. Spectra doesn't have the schedule or the invoice. Freddie does."

Abbey sighed loudly, "Then what you wait for, Blondie go and unlock Freddie's room and go get schedule. Is key to whole plan."

Twyla hugged herself and looked at the ground.

Blondie placed a hand on her shoulder, "Twyla, Billy and I can go, you run upstairs, I understand if you're scared."

Blondie turned towards Billy but he was nowhere to be seen. She rolled her eyes, "Ugh, I'll be fine, just head up the stairs and go."

Twyla looked around the room and then back at Blondie. She couldn't let Blondie go into Freddie's room all by herself but at the same time, she didn't want to be anywhere near Freddie _Creeper's_ room. But if Freddie awoke and saw Blondie going through her things she would kill Blondie and there would be no one there to save her.

Twyla turned and walked towards the door, "I'm going with you."

Blondie raised her eyebrows, "Are you sure? You don't have to do this. I can go on my own."

Twyla stared into her eyes, "No one should face Freddie alone. Come on, let's go find that schedule and face our fears."

Blondie smiled and they both left Spectra's room where objects flew through the air and floated around the room like a haunting.

Over the honeycomb network Faybelle frantically whispered, "Cleo hurry up the stairs, LT Ching just rounded the corner and she is on her way up."

Twyla pulled Blondie into the shadows and tip-toed into the shadow of a hanging object in Freddie's room. She slowly slid out of the shadow with Blondie and they looked around. Freddie's room was similar in layout to Spectra's but that was where the similarities ended. The way to Umbra had opened many times in this room. She sensed the shadows pressing against the gate, feverish and hungry. Twyla's skin crawled at the sight of multiple shrunken heads on a pedestal. The cane with the purple glowing orb that Freddie fussed at Duchess for knocking over rested among the grave of animal skulls strewn across the dresser. She gave the dresser a wide berth, it wouldn't bode well to touch an object of dark magic.

She tapped a pole with her shoulder and grabbed it quickly to prevent it from falling. Tied to the pole was a fang necklace and wrapped around the pole were multiple strands of hair with vials of blood. Twyla grimaced when she realized that some of the hair was probably hers.

Behind her Blondie audibly gagged and Twyla covered her mouth. Both glanced at Freddie's sleeping form. The yellow magic still lingered on Freddie as she slept. Twyla let go of Blondie and put her finger to her lips, Blondie nodded and pointed to Freddie's messenger bag. Twyla dug through it while Blondie searched the rest of the room.

Twyla could feel her heart hammering in her chest as she neared the bag slung over the post of Freddie's bed. Even in sleep Freddie looked menacing, the tattoos and brands on her face seemed to glow in the dark. Twyla opened the bag and slowly skimmed through the contents, she didn't want to move a thing out of place lest Freddie know she had been there.

Not finding a schedule or the invoice, Twyla closed the bag and glanced at the bedside table. As she drew near the tarot cards shimmered. _Shadow cards, if I ask nicely they'll reveal information but the price of the information could be dire._

She bypassed the cards and lifted the short Lincoln hat to peer underneath. There was a skull mask draped across the violet sash embroidery. Its sightless eyes glowed at her touch. She dropped the hat and backed away though the beady glow followed.

The soft sounds of a trumpet song began to play in her head. She shook the sound from her thoughts. Just being around Freddie brought out dreadful memories. Twyla furrowed her brow and stood up. She looked at the closet and took a good look at the hair that hung from the pole. Her robin egg blue hair was the easiest to distinguish from the rest, there was enough of it to make a wig out of but as she stared her hunch proved to be correct, the rest of the hair belonged to Farrah and Melody as did the vials of blood. _Her Roses Three._

She opened the closet door and walked inside. Inside the closet were the three flapper dresses of the _Three Roses_. Twyla shuddered as she grabbed the black flapper dress of Dahlia and examined it. Pinned to the tag was the shipping invoice, she touched the drop and whispered, "Found the invoice but ran into a bit of a problem."

Lagoona responded very loudly and indirectly as she tried to sound convincing, "Oh really LT Ching, there's a problem you say. Well let me just go and grab some notebook paper from the other room, I'll be right back."

Blondie walked over to Twyla and looked at the tag. She then turned and looked at the tag of another dress and found the shipping schedule. She turned to Twyla and whispered, "These are definitely trapped, the moment we unpin it Freddie will be woken up."

Farrah's voice sang out into everyone's ears, "Good must hide while evil seeks, heads in beds her eyes will peek."

Twyla worried her lip, "How good are Farrah's glamour spells?"

Blondie shrugged, "Pretty solid, but they only last until twelve."

Twyla furrowed her brow, "What time is it now?"

Blondie looked up at the clock, "Eeeeleven fifteen…" She pursed her lips, "We spent way too much time dicking around in Spectra's room. Well…Billy did but that's beside the point. We need this but I don't know how to disarm this trap, it's a bit too much for me."

Ghoulia punched up and groaned a question. Twyla touched the dot, "Well Ghoulia, we found the invoice and shipping information but it's attached to a trap of some kind and we don't-"

Ghoulia groaned informatively and Twyla nodded, "Of course, duh. Okay I'm ready when you are."

Blondie jabbed her finger into her ribs, "What did Ghoulia say?"

Twyla pointed to the invoice, "She told me to read it to her and she'll write it down but we need to hurry. That sleeping spell was cast around ten fifteen, Farrah's spell won't be the only thing that stops at midnight."

They both looked over their shoulder at the still sleeping Freddie before they turned towards the invoice. Blondie punched up, "Ghoulia are you ready?"

Ghoulia groaned a response. Blondie pursed her lips and looked at Twyla.

Twyla smirked, "She said yes."

Blondie nodded and read the shipping schedule to Ghoulia. Twyla followed with the reading of the invoice. They both paused and checked on Freddie every few minutes. Every snort grumble and sleepy whisper set them on edge. Once the reading was completed Twyla closed the closet door, but she used too much force and the pole covered in hair fell with a loud clang onto the floor.


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which is trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Twenty-Six:

Best Laid Plans

Blondie and Twyla froze in place as Freddie stirred. The glowing beads from the hat swiveled towards the cane. The orb of the clawed cane formed a spotlight which beamed upon Twyla and Blondie.

Twyla gripped Blondie's hand and side-step towards the shadow but the spotlight was on them. It had them in its sights. Blondie snatched a blood vial off the floor and chucked it at the cane. The cane spun and fell to the floor as the beam swirled through the air burning away the sleeping spell. Twyla pulled Blondie into the shadow.

Freddie rubbed her eyes and yawned. Specks of sleeping magic falling from her head as she rubbed.

Twyla dragged Blondie through the shadows and out into the hallway. She crouched in the dark as she punched up, "Faybelle is the coast clear upstairs? Freddie is awake."

Faybelle snorted, "Like yeah. No thanks to Abbey's bad acting. Ching is headed towards her office as we speak. Which by the way _der_ team or whatever after, you can like, come out of that hallway now, Ching passed by you. You're good to go."

Evie growled, "It's RED team, and thanks a bunch for the late heads up! I was freaking out when Ching walked past the hallway the first time."

Faybelle scoffed, "Whatever after, I have been flying my wings off going back and forth across this school, show me some appreciation."

Evie huffed, "If you want appreciation, get Billy to massage your wings later."

Billy's voice resonated over the network, " _Not_ doing that and uhhh, hey _Darling_ , I seem to be ahh, _floating_ your way, I'll come grab you and the rest of RED team. That way you won't have to worry about being seen."

Darling responded, "That would be much appreciated Billy. We will be waiting right here."

Evie scoffed, "If you could hurry that would be great because- OH MY CROWN! You scared me to death! Billy a little warning next time."

Twyla winced and rubbed her ear as she looked at Blondie. Blondie nodded and they walked upstairs to the dorm and waited for everyone to arrive. When Billy appeared with Darling, Evie and Robecca everyone cheered. Only to be immediately hushed by Abbey.

Abbey glared at everyone, "Plan only succeed if we get away with it. Now lay in bed, we are needing to rest."

Farrah and Faybelle grew to full size and the honey drops dissipated.

Faybelle walked over to her bed and flopped down, "I am royally exhausted and since Billy is being selfish, Farrah give me a massage my back is killing me."

Farrah fell onto the ground in a deep sleep.

Abbey picked Farrah up and put her in bed. She glared, "If you tired you sleep. All there is to do. Body aches will heal with rest."

Everyone shuffled into their respective beds and went to sleep with dreams of home and happier days.

Saturday morning of March fourth brought about a room change for all classes in the school. Twyla and crew were enjoying a relatively peaceful study day when someone knocked. Abbey arose and answered the door.

There stood Melody with an envelope in her hand, "Hey. Have your room assignments. Take a look and pack your things."

Abbey took the envelope with furrowed brows, "Room assignment? Why we need room assignment?"

Melody chuckled and leaned on the doorframe, "Come next week, I'll be moving to the great beyond but you all will be sophomores. To make room for the incoming freshman, you have to move _downstairs_. No big deal."

Twyla and crew walked over to see Melody.

Melody waved at everyone, "Hey. Last week as freshman how do you feel?"

Faybelle smirked and folded her arms, "I feel like this needs to be my last week at this _school_."

Billy became visible and closed his eyes as he shook his head at Faybelle. Her smile faded as she lowered her head and sighed. He turned towards Melody, "So why are there assignments? Are we not all sharing a room?"

Melody shook her head, "Not next year. You only share a big bay as freshman, your new dorm holds four bunk beds in each room. You even have a window that looks out over the water and the showers are stalls, so you can have privacy for once."

Blondie exclaimed, "YES! I am all for that! You have no idea how weird it is to share a shower with this many people let me tell you…"

Cleo groaned, "A shower _stall_. Well I suppose it will have to do, beggars can't be choosers especially in this place. But at least I no longer have to share a shower head with a boy I can't see." Everyone turned and looked at Billy.

He held his hands up defensively, "I am literally never in the same room with you guys half the time so don't go accusing me of peeping."

Melody chuckled, "Yeah, Spectra put your travel bag in your new room. She's going to be busy this week and really needs to concentrate."

Billy lowered his hands and raised an eyebrow, "Did she tell you to tell me that?"

Melody smiled apologetically, "Sorry, but you know how bad Spectra is at good byes."

Billy sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "More than you think."

Darling narrowed her eyes, "Spectra had your things…why?"

Billy shrugged, "Because you know it's just weird showering with all you guys and well, I wanted to respect everyone's privacy so I went downstairs… please don't give me that look."

Twyla raised an eyebrow, "Any ways, thanks for the info Melody, take care of yourself."

Melody moved away from the door and walked down the hall, "I will. Bye."

Abbey closed the door and tore open the envelope, "Looks like seven to each room. Room one is myself, Cleo, Twyla, Farrah, Billy, Lagoona and Darling. Room two has Faybelle, Blondie, Robecca, Crecha, Evie, Frankie and Ghoulia. Ah, there also schedule for finals. Looks like two finals per day on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday."

Robecca reached for the schedule, "Oh? Well how wonderful, there are extra study days next week. So, we move today and have Sunday and Wednesday as study days for finals."

Crecha placed a hand over her heart and sighed in relief, "Whoo, Thank the De Niles! I feared I was going to be separated from Frankie."

Cleo raised an eyebrow, "While I appreciated the praise of my name, I feel your adoration is a bit misplaced in that you will be separated from _me."_

Crecha blinked slowly then shrugged, "But I'm with my sister."

Cleo put her hands on her hips and scoffed, "So you'll praise my name while worshiping your sister?"

Crecha shook her head, "I'm not _worshipping_ my sister, I'm just glad that we're together."

Frankie glanced between the two, "Umm, we'll still be on the same floor so we're not totally separated."

Crecha gestured to Frankie and nodded, "See, no worries there."

Cleo folded her arms and turned up her nose, "Whatever, I can see were your priorities are."

Farrah shook her head as she walked into the bed bay and raised her wand, "Well, we better start packing." With a flick of her wrist, a burst of sheer orange light flooded the room and packed all of their things.

Frankie looked around, eyes wide with awe, "Wow! And finished packing, _voltageous_ job Farrah!"

Farrah curtsied, "Why thank you."

Evie strolled into the bed bay and pointed to her bags, "Love the packing job. Can you bibbidi bobbidi those downstairs and _unpack_ them for me? That would be great." She pulled out her hand mirror and admired herself while everyone glared at her.

Lagoona walked over to Evie and snatched the mirror, "Uh Evie, first of all, Farrah's in a completely different room than you and second of all you've got magic yourself. Why don't you float your _own_ boat down those stairs?"

Evie frowned as she snatched her mirror from Lagoona and pouted, "Fine." Her hands glowed green and she threw the spell at her things. As her luggage sprouted ostrich legs and stood up Evie asked, "Happy now?"

Lagoona stared at the luggage as it pecked at the ground, "Uhhh, yeah sure."

Crecha went to pick up her luggage and was rammed in the back of the leg by Evie's luggage. Startled Crecha shocked it and it fell limp onto the floor, "Evie! Control your crazy luggage."

Evie gasped and dashed over to her luggage. She talked to the trunk in a baby voice as she nuzzled it, "You hurt him, poor thing. Did the mean ghoul hurt you? Yes she did, yes she did. Oooh, you're a good boy."

Twyla grabbed her trunk and rolled her eyes, "Evie, we're leaving now, you can cuddle your luggage later."

Evie sighed as she stood up and walked towards the door, "Come on little doggies let's go."

Twyla shook her head as she walked downstairs to the new dorm room. The first thing she noticed when she put her trunk down was the large white belt on the bed. She picked it up and underneath were two pins, a single gold stripe on a red flash. She noticed every bed had a white belt and two pins except for one. That bed she surmised was supposed to be Billy's as it had a long white sash instead of a belt. She placed the belt and pins on the bed and unpacked her things as everyone filed into the room.

Lagoona looked around the room in awe, "Wow! Look at this window. What a view, hey you can sort of see the docks from here. Well at least where the ships are, that dock must be at least two maybe two point five kilometers long."

Abbey walked over to the window and nodded, "Good thing we won't have to walk."

Darling sat down on her bed, "Ooh, at least these sheets are softer. Our last week here won't be completely unbearable."

Cleo scoffed, "Speak for yourself, this _carpet_ is an absolute offense to my _senses_."

Farrah smiled as she looked at the carpet, "At least we have carpet. That concrete in the other dorm was hard and cold."

Twyla perked up, "I think it was linoleum."

Farrah tilted her head, "Oh okay, but I was so sure there was separation, it definitely looked like concrete but if you _say_ so."

Twyla raised an eyebrow, "Its naturally blue, concrete would need to be painted. When I wake up in the morning and there are no shadows, I pretty much wake up on that floor, it's linoleum."

Farrah held up her hands, "Oh I meant no offense, just stating an observation is all. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong."

Billy became visible and sat down on his trunk, "What does it matter?"

Twyla held her hands up defensively, "I meant no offense either Farrah, just letting you know my observations and my experience. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong."

Farrah wrung her hands, "Well, um, no offense taken, Twyla."

Twyla put her hands down and nodded, "None taken here either."

Billy looked between the two of them and sighed, "Women." He became invisible.

Abbey opened the door to the latrine and walked around, "There are only _two_ shower stalls."

Lagoona ran into the latrine and stared, "Crikey, the morning's going to be a right mess with seven of us trying to use two stalls after PTV."

Cleo walked in holding a copy of the week's schedule, "Well lucky for us, we don't have PTV in the mornings. Finals week is just that, our _final_ week. This schedule is focused on testing and while I don't really care about these classes I don't think we want to risk failing and getting an eternity of detention." She handed the schedule to Lagoona.

Lagoona skimmed the schedule and smiled, "Looks like the final test ends at three on Friday. That gives us the rest of the day to prepare for getting out of here." She gazed at everyone, "I am so stoked for this week mate. We're almost out of here."

Twyla stood in the doorway of the latrine and looked around, "There's one little snafu to the plan. We're separated into two dorms now. Will Farrah's glamour spell work on two rooms?"

Farrah squeezed past Twyla and entered the latrine, "Well…it didn't last long but I have actually recreated an entire ancient library with a glamour, so yes. I can glamour the entire floor. It will be easy to create replicas of everyone, considering how much of each other we've seen. Or haven't seen as the case may be."

Billy became visible right next to Abbey and sighed, "Would you feel more comfortable if I was visible all the time? It's really hard for me to do but I could try."

Darling walked over and stood in the doorway next to Twyla and shook her head, "Oh no, if it's too much trouble don't bother. I think a _verbal_ warning or some type of indication that you're here would put our minds at ease." She narrowed her eyes, "Especially since you weren't even here half the time."

Abbey folded her arms and raised an eyebrow, "When you come and go? Why you tell no one, what if you had died? Did you not think of this?"

Billy sighed and looked up at the ceiling as he became invisible.

Twyla called out, "Umm, I thought you said you were see through not walk through. You have nowhere to go right now, what are you doing?"

Billy became visible and rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorry, I was thinking of a reply, it's really hard to concentrate on being visible while concentrating on answering so many questions."

Darling raised an eyebrow, "So you can only focus on one thing at a time? How did you make everyone invisible when they touched you?"

Billy shrugged, "I don't know, instinct? I was just super focused on the plan, you know. Like this one time when I was a kid and my mom was giving birth to my little sister. We were on the run and my dad was freaking out because the normies would dissect us and lock us in cages if we were caught. So, he held us, he held onto our shelter and he concentrated on keeping us safe and even though mom was screaming in pain those normies never saw us. Dad told me that it's one of our abilities, like extending ourselves out to the air around us. Kind of like a bubble of bending light particles, although I think dad's bubble made the sound waves bend as well or something. Either way, kept us safe and…here I am."

Farrah placed her hands over her heart, "On the run?"

Billy waved dismissively, "Long story. Did everyone pick a bed?"

Abbey walked towards the bed area, "I did, but I will check on comrades make sure they understand schedule."

Twyla walked into the bed area and pulled out her study materials. She was determined to leave the school come senior graduation day. She may have been issued her new rank but she didn't intend on sticking around to wear it and if everything went right on Friday night there wouldn't be a new freshman class.


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which is trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Twenty-Seven:

Finals Fiasco

Friday evening arrived quickly. Twyla found herself sitting on her bed in the dorms anxiously staring at the clock. According to the shipment schedule, Freddie and crew weren't going to start loading the ship until ten fifteen. That was fifteen minutes after their ship orientation brief with LT Ching, which meant that Ching would be roaming the halls afterwards. So, they chose to sneak out around ten when Ensign Cookie and the lunch ladies went to bed and left the chow hall open for the seniors.

Billy, though invisible, paced the room around the window. Moonlight bent and scattered at odd angles as he moved.

Cleo growled across the room, "Will you stop that, this night is stressful enough as it is."

Billy stopped and became visible. He grinned sheepishly, "Sorry." He turned to peer out the window and gasped, "The seniors are loading the ship!"

"What does that matter to you, private?" LT Ching clicked her tongue.

Everyone turned around and spotted LT Ching standing at the entrance of the bed area. Billy quickly walked over to his bed and sat down, "Nothing ma'am."

Ching prowled the aisle between the beds and nodded, "As it should. Tell me, do all of you intend on sleeping in your shoes?"

Everyone scrambled to take off their shoes and lay in bed. Ching looked at the shoes on the ground, "Is that how we treat our things, privates?"

Everyone got out of bed and arranged their shoes properly, "No ma'am."

Ching narrowed her eyes as she paced, "See to it that you _always_ pay attention to the little details. Starting tomorrow you will officially be _Private First Class_ and I expect you to wear the new rank proudly. Understood?"

Everyone replied, "Yes ma'am."

Ching prowled the dorm as she examined everyone's lockers and beds. She abruptly turned on her heel and left the dorm.

The moment the door was closed Lagoona hopped out of bed and put on her shoes, "The seniors are loading the ship early. This is a disaster, mates. What are we going to do?"

Twyla looked at the ground, "The shadows haven't returned, so Freddie's still here, there's still time. If we hurry, we can still make it."

Cleo put her shoes on and stood up, "Well what are we waiting for, let's go."

Billy stood his full height and pointed at the wall, "We need to confirm that Ching is gone and we can all get out of here."

Cleo shooed him away, "Then go through the wall and find out, Ching won't see you."

Billy growled, "I'm not a _ghost_."

Darling huffed, "Yet somehow you can still _kiss_ one."

Billy threw his hands up in the air and turned away from everyone.

Abbey stomped over and grabbed Billy's arm. She threw him towards the door, "You still see through, go stand in hall and knock on door when Ching is gone. GO."

Billy became invisible as he left the room. Twyla glanced up at the clock, it had just turned ten and the seniors were already loading the ship. Ching's words echoed in her head, _pay attention to the little details_. Twyla knew she read the schedule right, they had been planning based on that schedule, so why were the seniors down there so early?

Farrah fluttered nervously around the room, "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness. Please let the ship delay, oh please just wait a little while for us. Oh."

A knock on the door startled everyone, Abbey opened the door and stared at nothing.

Billy whispered, "Come on, we need to check the chow hall, there might still be crates left inside, but we really need to hurry."

Abbey nodded, reached out and grabbed onto Billy.

Billy loudly whispered, "Hey, _seriously._ Why does everyone do _that_?"

Abbey, invisible, replied with a hint of a laughter in her voice, "Billy, you whine much too much. Come, Farrah make glamour. We go."

Farrah nodded and raised her wand in the air, a pale purple light burst through the air and the entire sophomore floor was covered in a glamour.

Twyla saw a version of herself asleep in the shadow of her bed. She nodded, "Nice."

Farrah smiled, "I try, but we must hurry, remember midnight the glamour ends."

Abbey snapped her fingers, "Comrades, come to sound and grab my hand we must go."

Twyla linked hands with Farrah, Lagoona, and Cleo as she grabbed Abbey's hand. Once invisible they went to the next dorm and grabbed their classmates then walked as one down the stairs. The going was rough, slow and difficult. Twyla had forgotten how difficult is was to walk when she couldn't see her own feet. It was a strange feeling to say the least and she briefly wondered how Billy saw himself in the world when he couldn't see himself.

Her musing was cut short as footsteps echoed up the staircase. Everyone pressed against the wall and held their breath as LT Ching and LT Read stalked up the stairs.

Read hissed, "I'm telling you, I heard something, don't you believe me?"

Ching growled, "For the last time Mary, I believe you. But I always verify the information I am given."

Read whined, "So you don't _trust_ me. Shiiiiiihh."

Ching sighed loudly as they stepped onto the sophomore landing. She fiddled with the keys to the dorm.

Twyla felt Farrah shift beside her and then after a tug, realized that someone was trying to lead them down the stairs while Ching was in the dorm, it was risky but time was precious. They started down the stairs.

Footsteps from above halted their forward progress. Twyla crouched down as Ching and Read made their way down the stone steps. Ching descended with a scowl.

Read prattled on behind her, "I could have sworn I heard activity and you said it yourself, you said they were spying on the ships. You said, you thought they were plotting something. You said it, you did and the freshmen always try something, every year, guaranteed. I tell you the truth Shih. Come on, _believe_ me. They must have been arguing or something Shih! Don't give me the cold shoulder…"

Ching growled out, "Silence yourself Mary."

Read threw her head back and whined, "SHIIIIIIIH." They glided down the stairs past the crouched class and rounded the corner out of sight.

Everyone let out a breath and continued down the stairs. Upon reaching the ground floor, they quickened their pace towards the open chow hall doors. Once inside they unlinked hands and ran towards the barrels and crates tied together on a large pallet.

Twyla tried to pull off the lid, "Can I get a little help here, no telling when they will be back to load this one."

Darling walked over to the barrel and lifted the lid with one finger.

Twyla stood slack-jawed, "Whoa. Umm, thanks."

Darling smirked, "No problem."

Blondie ran over, pulled several lemons and limes out of the way and slid into it, "Less talking more hiding."

The clicking of high heels in the hallway warned them of another fast approaching. Twyla hopped into the open barrel with Blondie. Darling tossed the lid on top.

Blondie glared at Twyla and whispered inches from her face, "You are _so_ lucky you're petite, if you were any bigger, I would seriously kick you out."

Twyla rolled her eyes and winced, "I picked this barrel first not my fault you jumped in, ow, is that a _knife_ poking me."

Blondie covered her mouth, "Shh, lock pick kit." She peered through the side of the barrel, "Huh! Oh no, they closed the chow hall door! Are they not taking these? Don't they need to take these?"

She started pushing on the lid, "Hey, guys they closed the doors and left the crates and seriously Twyla get your knee out of my crotch!"

Twyla scoffed and shoved her towards the other side of the barrel, "Get your boob out of my face! Hey, someone seriously, get me out of here."

The lid was removed and Abbey glared down at them, "Why you so loud? You lucky door was closed, if had been on ship would be discovered."

Twyla climbed out of the barrel, "Why didn't they take the barrels?"

Abbey furrowed her brow. She turned the lid around and sighed as she pointed to the invoice, "It say tomorrow morning. Not tonight."

Faybelle shrieked, "What?"

Billy smacked his forehead with his hand, "Of course, they don't need all this food right now because they are going to drop off the new students in the morning. How did we forget that?"

Cleo stalked towards the door, "Well we're going to _miss_ the ship if we don't hurry."

Robecca nodded, "Absolutely, now how are we getting on it?"

Ghoulia groaned in panic. Frankie looked at her, "Looks like running will have to be it. Let's just hope the dock doesn't have a lot of light and we can sneak on the ship."

Cleo opened the chow hall door and peered out. Everyone ran down the hall and towards the open main door. Upon arrival to the open door everyone's heart sank.

Lagoona whispered, "Not good mate, look at all the light, we'll be spotted for sure. What do we do?"

Twyla peered around, "Hey Billy, let's hook up."

Billy became visible and held out his hands, "Let's do this."

Faybelle growled out, "Ugh, linking up takes forever and we don't have that kind of time. Your dumb plan is dumb! Lucky for you, you have _me_ by your side." Twyla opened her mouth to speak but Faybelle started her cheer, "They can't hear us, they can't see, clouds of darkness cover me."

She pointed the spell towards the docks but the cloud hit a blue ward in the doorway and rose towards the ceiling. Everyone stared at the cloud as it completely filled the doorway.

Footsteps down the hall caused Faybelle to panic, "Uhhh. Bigger, badder, bolder, real. Come on cloud push through this seal." She threw another spell into the cloud.

It burst through the cloud with a raspy hiss and created an opening. Everyone sprinted with all their might. Twyla's heart hammered in her chest as she pumped her legs as fast as she could.

As she ran she noticed one big problem, the dock was getting longer and longer. Was there someone casting an illusionary spell? If it was an illusion she would have hit something physically by now. It must have been a perception altering spell and if so, who was the caster?

Twyla kept running but her lungs felt like they were on fire, _no_ like they were frozen. She tried to look down but she realized she couldn't move her head. She tried to turn her body but every part of it was frozen. She tried to cry out but her mouth wouldn't open. She heard the strangled cry of her classmates behind her and thought, _everyone must be frozen like this_.

She forced her eyes forward, just as the shadows returned. Filled with dread she peered down the dock and realized one thing, the ship was gone. Their only means of escape from this nightmare world had sailed away. Her dad couldn't save her here and she couldn't get to him. She was truly on her own. A single tear escaped her eye as she stared at the empty space where her freedom should have been located.

A loud cackle sounded above everyone's head.

LT O'Malley flew from the third story window to land in front of them, "Hahaha! The looks on all of your faces is priceless. Gets me every year." She turned around grinning from ear to ear, "Did you really think we didn't notice you all sneaking around the school, breaking into our things and touching all of our goods? HA! Even more foolish was breaking into Facilier's room. Even her own classmates have tried and failed to kill her. The moment you read the schedule she knew to change it. Plain and simple."

She prowled around them, grinning like a maniac as she slow-clapped, "Congratulations by the way, for being the least creative class ever. I mean really, _hide on the senior boat_ _and sail away_. No imagination." She tilted her head back and chuckled, "Then again no one could ever be as creative as Class 213. Ah, I miss that heart eater, such a classic manipulator he was. I wouldn't mind giving him another private lesson."

She put her hands on her hips and leered, "Although I will give you this, you got pretty far making it onto the dock. Most classes can't get to the door. That bit of magic you did there must've done something to the ward. Lucky you, I guess. We will have to be more diligent with that in the future. Faye magic is so annoying to figure out wards for, but I'll take fairies over zombies. Frigging hate zombies."

O'Malley stopped pacing and peered down the dock. The click of stilettos signaled the arrival of LT Delahaye. Red hair flicked in the wind as she sashayed past Twyla.

Delahaye greeted O'Malley with kisses to both cheeks, "Thank you for responding to my wayward class."

O'Malley waved dismissively, "Heh, no problem they're all yours." She flipped backwards and threw a small bomb which launched her up and towards the school with the explosion. She yelled obscenities the entire way.

Delahaye shook her head and turned towards everyone, "Poor little fools. I assume you have a few _questions_ you would like to ask."

Faybelle, suspended in mid-air, growled, "Ugh, how can you make a ward that prevents students from leaving if students are permitted to leave? And don't give me that spell _specificity_ crap because we are all very different people, if you block all of us from leaving then Freddie and them couldn't leave."

Twyla figured Faybelle must have had some type of ward immunity because she was a Faye.

Delahaye raised a delicate eyebrow, "Oh, it's funny that you mention my favorite student. She does indeed seem to break the mold. She's the only student we've had in the past two hundred years that killed the previous senior class." She chuckled, "All so she could practice gathering treasure for when it was her turn to serve. And she gathered so much treasure! Not sure how she managed with the thirty-five second time limit but she did. Best of all she delivered all of you into our waiting arms. There were only supposed to be four taken and she brought _fourteen_. Funny how she managed to do all that, considering the only way to leave this place is by graduation or death."

Twyla thought about her time spent on the island, from the moment they landed until the moment they stepped outside. Something didn't add up, what was she missing? More importantly, Freddie and crew had escaped once and returned, why? There had to be a reason everyone stayed on this island. They must have no choice. But what could it be?

The sound of her heartbeat slowing down to a resting rate reminded her of her time with Freddie in the summer. She recalled Freddie's question to Robecca. _Hey, robot, do you bleed?_ She remembered as Freddie walked away from a leaking Robecca, _my job is complete_. Then she recalled what happened when Faybelle cut the wrong tree. _This is the Blood Forest, the saplings feed off your blood_. Dawning comprehension flooded Twyla and she wasn't the only one.

Behind her Farrah spoke, "The forest…you bound us to the island with our own blood. That's how you can make such a specific ward. Which means that, up until that point…we weren't bound to the island. That's why you were so harsh with us! You didn't want us escaping before you bound us. The terrible treatment, the way we were herded around, the way you restricted our freedoms. That's why Freddie needed to cover herself with the blood of others, to trick the system…"

Delahaye put her hands on her hips and leaned back, "Well aren't you the clever dear? Now that you know your fate, accept it." She raised her hands and clapped.

Twyla felt her limbs move but she was not in control. She watched herself walk up the stairs, change her clothes and lay in bed. The moment her head hit the pillow she felt her muscles become her own again and, in that moment, she let out a scream of frustration.

-Delahaye-

Delahaye grinned from ear to ear as she pushed open the door to Ching's office. O'Malley and Bonny were already present, though Bonny lay drunk on the floor.

Ching looked up from her desk, "Well? Did you catch them?"

Delahaye smiled as she sank into her seat, "Oh yes and guess how far they got?"

Ching narrowed her eyes, "I assess they made it far or else you wouldn't be so _giddy_."

Delahaye nodded, "Indeed. They made it to the docks."

Bonny groaned from the floor and sat up, "To the docks? That's-"

Delahaye nodded, "The furthest any class has ever made it since Class 213. I know."

Ching propped her elbows on her desk and laced her fingers together, "Well then, it is as I suspected. This class is the one."

O'Malley snorted, "You really think so?" She played with the flame of the lantern on the desk and chuckled as her silver ring was engulfed in flame, "That's what you said about Class 213 and we all know how that turned out."

Delahaye crossed her legs and leaned back, "Yes, the _Casanova killer_ set the standard for how captain feels about boys and this class has one. She will always be suspicious of those."

O'Malley nodded, "Agreed. Between Class 213, Class 215, Class 217 and Class 218, they've all had a boy and they've all been the _one_."

Ching stiffened and narrowed her eyes, "Kieran was a mistake. He was overly ambitious, but this class. We can use them, the perfect mix of magic and stealth."

Delahaye sneered, "Yes, Kieran was overambitious… ambitious enough to shove his hand through your chest and rip out your heart."

O'Malley chuckled, "That Billy boy looks similar to him, perhaps you could use him as an invisible Casanova."

Ching scowled, "Considering how often he wound up in Corporal Vondergiest's bed he'd be perfect for the role. But no, I do _not_ intend to use him in such a way."

Delahaye tilted her head, "Indeed. You say that now but thirteen girls to one male… he could come in handy. Their spirits are already broken, we could give them _something else_ to cling to."

Bonny belched and grinned, "Yeah, nothing like clinging to some good wood."

O'Malley leered, "Speaking of good, the old _king of scheme's_ robot is still sitting in Montoya's regeneration chamber."

Delahaye hummed thoughtfully, "That Elle bot _was_ the closest the students ever came to breaking the curse."

Ching nodded, "Indeed and there is a robot in this class. Copper instead of chrome, perhaps a sturdier frame. We will need her. For my new plan to work we will also need Montoya but we need to keep it secret from Walker. She cares for the students far too much to allow the plan to reach fruition."

Delahaye raised a brow, "Oooh, going around the first mate? Color me intrigued. Tell me, how do you intend to get this class to do what you want?"

Ching glanced at a drunk Bonny on the floor, "Simple. We sacrifice one to motivate the others."


End file.
